Friday, August 26 2005 15:15 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: India today (Aug 26, 2005) said there was no proposal for exchange of prisoners for the release of Sarabjit, sentenced to death in Pakistan for his alleged involvement in bomb blasts in 1990.

"We have not talked about exchange of prisoners in Sarabjit's case," Foreign Secretary Shyam Saran told reporters when asked whether New Delhi was considering any such move. Saran confirmed that Pakistan has agreed to provide consular access to Sarabjit.

During a meeting with Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan and his deputy Munawar Saeed Bhatti at the foreign office here yesterday, External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh had said this was a "humanitarian" issue and that there was a strong public sentiment in the country for sparing his life.

India's High Commissioner in Islamabad Shiv Shanker Menon had taken up the matter with Pakistan Foreign Secretary Riaz Muhammad Khan on Wednesday. Sarabjit's family contends that it is a case of mistaken identity. Sarabjit has been sentenced for his alleged involvement in bomb blasts in Pakistan 1n 1990.