Pranab requests Pakistan to show mercy to Sarabjit

New Delhi, Apr 18 (UNI) External Afffairs Minister Pranab Mukherjee today appealed to the Pakistani authorities to grant clemency and show mercy to Sarabjit Singh, the Indian prisoner who is facing the gallows in that country.

In a statement, the External Affairs Minister said that whatever the legal position may be, on humanitarian grounds alone mercy could be shown to ''this unfortunate human being''.

''I appeal to the authorities in Pakistan to show clemency to Shri Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner who has been in Pakistani jail since 1990 and who has been under sentence of death for the last seventeen years. Whatever the legal position may be, on humanitarian grounds alone I would hope that mercy could be shown to this unfortunate human being,'' he said in the statement.

Sarabjit Singh, currently lodged in a Lahore jail, was sentenced to death for his alleged involvement in the 1990 serial blasts in Lahore and Multan.

His hanging initially slated for April one, was deferred till April 30 after a flurry of appeals from Indian leaders, the latest being BJP stalwart L K Advani.

Sarabjit's case has received wide attention and the Indian government has taken up the matter with the Pakistani authorities at various levels.

Sarabjit Singh's family members, who have launched a campaign to save him from the gallows, were given visas by the Pakistani authorities to allow them to meet him UNI RB RR VC1812