Pakistan delays Sarabjit Singh's execution

Islamabad, May 2 (UNI) Pakistan government has delayed till further order the delayed execution of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national, who was sentenced to death in connection with 1990 serial bombings in Lahore and Kasur.

Execution of Singh, who was to be hanged on April 1 was stayed till April 30, a day after the Indian government sought clemency for him, on March 18.

A notification staying the execution order has already been received by Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail today, a prison official said.

Singh was sentenced to death in 1990s for carrying out multiple bomb explosions in Pakistan's Punjab province, which killed 14 people.

According to Pakistani officials, Singh was a terrorist, who operated in Pakistan with different names including that of Manjeet Singh. However, his family members claim that he was innocent and inadvertently crossed the border.

President Pervez Musharraf had initially rejected Singh's mercy petition in early March followed by issuance of his death warrants.

His hanging was then fixed for April 1.

Singh got the first extension hours after the Indian High Commission in Pakistan expressed dismay over newsreports on his hanging.

UNI XC GT KP2246