Death row Briton to win Pakistan clemency - paper

LONDON, Nov 16 (Reuters) Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf will commute the death sentence of a Briton, making him eligible for release since he has already served 18 years in jail, the Times newspaper reported today.

It said Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, from Leeds in northern England, would have his sentenced commuted to life for killing a taxi driver but, given time served, he would be eligible for parole.

The Times did not give a source for the report and it was not immediately possible to confirm. A formal announcement was expected today, it said.

The news, if confirmed, comes barely two weeks after a trip to Pakistan by Britain's Prince Charles, who, along with Prime Minister Tony Blair, has appealed for clemency for Hussain.

Hussain has been on the death row since June but the government has stayed his execution from month to month to give his relatives more time to persuade the victim's family to pardon him in return for compensation.

The Briton has said the taxi driver, Jamshaid Khan, tried to sexually assault him and then pulled a gun which went off when they struggled.

He was originally acquitted of the crime, but was subsequently found guilty and sentenced to death by an Islamic court in 1998, and his appeals to the Supreme Court and for a presidential pardon were turned down.

Reuters PDS VP0755