Tuesday, October 4 2005 14:46 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

Islamabad: Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf today (Oct 04, 2005) assured India that he would take a humanitarian view on the case of Sarabjit Singh, who has been sentenced to death here on charges of carrying out bomb blasts in 1990.

The assurance was given when External Affairs Minister K Natwar Singh raised the issue at a meeting with Musharraf at Rawalpindi and urged that "he (Sarabjit) be dealt from a humanitarian point of view," External Affairs Ministry Spokesman Navtej Sarna said after the meeting.

"The President said he would take note of External Affairs Minister's remarks when the matter was put to him," he said.

Sarabjit's lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid recently filed a review petition in the Supreme Court seeking a judicial review of his conviction. If the court rejects the petition then Sarabjit has the last option to file a mercy petition to Musharraf who is constitutionally authorised to decide whether to pardon him or not.

Sarabjit has been sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in connection with five bomb blasts in Pakistan's Punjab province in 1990.

Sarabjit has denied his involvement in the blasts and said he was wrongly implicated after he crossed over to Pakistan.