M A I N   N E W S

Execution may hit release of Sarabjit Singh
Tribune News Service

New Delhi, November 21
It was not a mere coincidence that India voted against a UN General Assembly resolution which called for a moratorium on executions just a day before Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving terrorist from the 26/11 Mumbai attack, was hanged at Pune’s Yerwada Jail.

The execution of Kasab, five days before the nation observes the fourth anniversary of the Mumbai mayhem, has come as a big relief to the nation, desperately wanting justice to be done to nearly 170 innocent people killed in the Mumbai carnage.

Tough call There is an apprehension that the fresh mercy petition of Sarabjit might be rejected by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari amid calls in Pakistan from hawkish elements to hang him Sarabjit was arrested for his alleged involvement in a string of bombings in Pakistani cities in 1990

Kasab’s hanging, however, has certainly put a big question mark on whether Sarabjit Singh, an Indian death row prisoner in Pakistan, would be allowed to return home.

Official sources in New Delhi were hopeful that Pakistan would not link Kasab’s case with that of Sarabjit, who was arrested for his alleged involvement in a string of bombings in Pakistani cities in 1990. At the same time, however, there is an apprehension that the fresh mercy petition of Sarabjit might be rejected by Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari amid calls in Pakistan from hawkish elements to hang him.

“We don’t know what is in store for Sarabjit…we have to wait and watch how Kasab’s hanging will get embroiled in domestic politics of Pakistan,’’ sources added. They pointed out that various human rights groups in Pakistan too were demanding that Sarabjit be released since he is a victim of mistaken identity..

“We never said we will release a mass-murderer like Kasab…Pakistan has all along been saying it has been considering Sarabjit’s case sympathetically. We only hope there is no change in Islamabad’s position,’’ sources added.