Friday, March 10 2006 18:08 Hrs (IST) - World Time -

New Delhi: The BJP and the Shiromani Akali Dal today (Mar 10 2006) sought government intervention to save Sarabjeet Singh, who is in a Pakistani jail facing execution, after that country's Supreme Court rejected an appeal to overturn his death sentence.

"If the government is convinced that he is innocent and that he has been a victim of mistaken identity, it should move ahead to save him," BJP spokesman Prakash Javadekar told sources. The SAD, a BJP ally, sought Prime Minister Manmohan Singh's intervention to secure release of Sarabjeet, who belongs to Punjab, from Pakistan.

"The Prime Minister should immediately take diplomatic initiatives to save Sarabjeet and secure his release from Pakistan," SAD Secretary General Sukhdev Singh Dhindsa said.

Also, the Shiromani Akali Dal (Panthak), headed by Delhi's Sikh religious leader Manjit Singh, wrote a letter to the Prime Minister, asking for his intervention to save the man who accidentally strayed into Pakistan 15 years ago.

Pakistan's Supreme Court had rejected Sarabjeet's appeal to overturn the death sentence for his alleged involvement in 1990 bomb blasts in that country's Punjab province and for 'spying'.