New Delhi, September 4
A Lahore serial blast case has admitted that he was forced to implicate Sarabjit Singh who has been sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in Pakistan. “I was told by the lawyer that I should identify Sarabjit as the main culprit for the serial blasts and I did it,” Salim Shaukat, whose father had died in the blasts on May 18, 1990, told a news channel.
“I am not sure if he is responsible for the blasts,” he said, adding that he felt that Sarabjit should be let off whether or not he was responsible for the blasts that took place 15 years ago.
Recalling his appearance as a witness before a court, Shaukat said after he identified Sarabjit as the accused, he had resisted and asked him to swear by Koran.
“Sarabjit was looking at me after my testimony but I was helpless as I was under the influence of law enforcement agencies,” he said in an interview to Star News.
Following pressure from several organisations and individuals seeking release of Sarabjit, the Indian Government took up the matter with Pakistan. It is being alleged that Sarabjit has been identified by Pakistani security agencies as one Manjit Singh, an alleged RAW agent.
Reacting to the interview, Sarabjit’s sister, Dalbir Kaur, praised Salim for speaking out the truth while remaining in Pakistan.
“Obviously, this will help us in our appeal for review of the (Pakistan) Supreme Court’s verdict,” she told the TV channels from Amritsar.
— UNI, PTI
