Islamabad: Pakistan Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani personally believes that Indian national Sarabjit Singh, sentenced to death by a local court for alleged involvement in bomb attacks, should be pardoned and has asked President Pervez Musharraf to review his case.

He said his personal beliefs in the matter were the reason why he had recently written to Musharraf to stop Sarabjit's execution, which was scheduled for May 1. Pakistani authorities last week put off Sarabjit's hanging indefinitely.

"I have advised the President that he should stop (Sarabjit's) execution and it should be reviewed by the ministries of interior, foreign affairs, law and justice and human rights," Gilani told interviewer Karan Thapar on the programme Devil's Advocate. The prime minister added this was the reason why Sarabjit's execution was put off recently.

Asked if he believed that Sarabjit should be pardoned, Gilani, who spent several years in jail after being arrested on charges of illegally giving jobs to people during his tenure as Speaker of the National Assembly, said, "That is the reason I have advised the President. Now it's up to the ministries to take a decision".

Replying to a question on whether he had sought a review for giving him pardon, he said, "They (the ministries) will think on those lines. They will consider whether the case is fit or whether the case is not fit and they will take a decision".

Sarabjit was originally set to be hanged on April 1, and his execution was initially deferred for 30 days by Musharraf. This was done so that Pakistan's new government led by Gilani could review his case following an appeal for clemency from the Indian government.

Following Gilani's intervention, Pakistani authorities put off the execution "till further orders".  

Sarabjit was sentenced to death for alleged involvement in four bomb attacks in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990. His family insists that he is innocent and was wrongly convicted for the bomb attacks. His family also denies that Sarabjit is a spy named Manjit Singh as claimed by Pakistan and maintains that he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory while inebriated.

Earlier this year, Sarabjit's mercy petition was rejected by Musharraf on March 3. Pakistan's Supreme Court too rejected Sarabjit's plea for clemency in March 2006.

Source : PTI