Rezaul H Laskar in Islamabad/Rediff
Islamabad, Apr 18: Indian authorities have established contact with Pakistan's new government on the issue of its national Sarabjit Singh, whose execution has been deferred till May 1, and are hopeful that he will be shown clemency.
The execution of Sarabjit -- sentenced to death for alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990 -- was deferred for 30 days by President Pervez Musharraf so that the new government could review his case.
Sarabjit was originally set to be hanged on April 1.
Official sources said the Indian government had taken up Sarabjit's case with the new coalition government led by the Pakistan People's Party shortly after it assumed office last month.
The Indian government is now hopeful that Sarabjit will be shown clemency, the sources said.
"The Pakistan government is aware that there is cross-party support in India for the plea for clemency for Sarabjit. Though there are no indications as yet from the Pakistan government, we are hopeful that he will be shown clemency," a source told PTI.
Sarabjit's Pakistani lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid is expected to make another appeal for clemency to the new government and the condemned man's relatives will arrive in Pakistan soon to meet him, the sources said.
Sarabjit's kin are expected to arrive in Pakistan on April 23 to seek clemency. Under Pakistani law, a condemned person can be pardoned if he is forgiven by victims of his crimes.
However, Hamid had said on Thursday that he had no information on whether the new government had taken up Sarabjit's case. "There is no indication that the case has been taken up for consideration by the government," he said.
According to legal provisions, Hamid said once the month-long suspension of the death sentence ended, the fresh date for the execution would be May 1.
The death warrant issued earlier for Sarabjit is still valid, he said.
Sarabjit, who Pakistan claims is Manjit Singh, was sentenced to death in 1991. His family denies he is a spy as claimed by Pakistan and insists he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory.
His mercy petition was rejected by Musharraf on March 3. Pakistan's Supreme Court too rejected Sarabjit's plea for clemency in March 2006.