Lahore/Islamabad, April 24
The wife, daughters and sister of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner on the death row in Pakistan, met him in the city’s Kot Lakhpat Jail today and called for his release. Meanwhile, family members of the victims killed in bombings allegedly engineered by Sarabjit demanded that he be hanged.
Sarabjit’s family members said he is innocent and had accidentally strayed into Pakistan. They demanded his immediate release and repatriation to India.
However, a group of family members of the victims killed in the blasts chanted slogans outside the jail and demanded that the authorities implement the death sentence given to Sarabjit by the court.
“Can anyone bring back my father who was killed when I was just three,” said Zeeshan, who lost his father in one of the five blasts blamed on the Indian.
Reacting, Dalbir Kaur, Sarabjit’s sister, told mediapersons: “This, I believe, is a case of misidentification. My brother cannot do this...he is innocent and strayed into Pakistan accidentally.”
Dalbir Kaur arrived in Pakistan on Wednesday with four family members, comprising her husband Baldev, Sarabjit’s wife Sukhpreet Kaur, and daughters - Swapandeep and Poonam.
Emerging from the nearly two-hour meeting, Dalbir told reporters: “It was an emotional meeting as we were seeing Sarabjit after 18 years. There were mixed feelings of happiness and sadness as we were meeting under these circumstances.”
“Just as we were impatient to meet Sarabjit, the other prisoners and their families are anxious to see each other. Irrespective of whether they are Indians or Pakistanis, the prisoners should be freed so that they can go home,” she said as Poonam broke down in tears.
Sarabjit’s brother-in-law, Baldev, maintains he is innocent and had been wrongly convicted for the bomb attacks in 1990 in which 14 persons were killed.
Poonam, who was only 23 days old when her father crossed the border, said: “We urge everyone to help us free our father. We have come to appeal to President Pervez Musharraf to help us by freeing our father as he is innocent. We believe that he will certainly help.”
Swapandeep, who was two-and-half-year old when her father strayed into Pakistan, said: “We have come with the hope that the improved relations between India and Pakistan will have an impact on my father’s case and he will be released soon.” She said she was both happy and sad on being allowed to travel to Pakistan to meet her father.
Sarabjit’s family is carrying letters written by various persons to Musharraf seeking clemency for Sarabjit as well as letters written to Sarabjit by his friends.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan government said on Thursday it was “actively considering” a request from India for Sarabjit and a decision would be taken in “due course”.
Asked if Sarabjit would be hanged, foreign office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq said: “The issue of Sarabjit is under active consideration by the Pakistan government. We have received a request from the Indian government. A decision will be taken in due course.”
— IANS & PTI
