Islamabad, September 10
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf has said that Sarabjit Singh was involved in the bomb blasts that killed 14 persons across three Pakistani cities in 1990. He said he was looking into the legal aspect of the case.
“Irrespective of how Sarabjit’s family approaches the Indian leadership, he is involved in the bomb blasts. It is a serious issue. The man has carried out bomb blasts and killed many people here,” said President Musharraf in an interview to Geo TV. He further said though he was a man who showed mercy, he would nevertheless take decisions in a deliberate manner in this case.
“I have to take a decision in a deliberate manner. Otherwise I am a man who shows mercy,” he added.
Reports also said the family of the victims of the bomb blasts had met President Musharraf and threatened to immolate themselves in front of Pakistani Parliament if Sarabjit was pardoned. An eyewitness who testified against Sarabjit also threatened to immolate himself. He said Sarabjit had planted a bomb in his goods trolley and the explosion had maimed him forever.
Sarabjit Singh is facing death charges on account of spying. The supreme court of Pakistan recently upheld his death sentence awarded by a Pakistani court in 1991.
Sarabjit’s family has threatened to commit suicide if he was executed, saying that it was a case of mistaken identity and he was a farmer who had wandered into Pakistan in a drunken state.
The Indian Government has pressed for clemency for Sarabjit ahead of talks between Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and President Pervez Musharraf in New York this month on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly summit.
— ANI
