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The Pakistani government is planning to convert capital punishment of Sarabjit Singh into life imprisonment. Sarabjit Singh is due to be hanged in Pakistan this year. Sarabjit Singh, the Indian national was convicted of allegedly carrying out four bomb attacks in Punjab province, which left fourteen people dead.
The Supreme Court and Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf had in the past rejected his mercy petitions. His execution had been set for April 1, 2008 but Musharraf delayed his execution by a month after receiving fresh appeal from the Indian government. For converting capital punishment into life imprisonment, a summary is prepared by the interior ministry and the final decision is likely to come in a few days time.
Sarabjit’s family is currently in Pakistan, to once again give a mercy plea to President Pervez Musharraf. Sarabjit’s wife Sukhpreet Kaur, daughters Poonam and Sawpandeep and his sister Dalbir Kaur have all been lobbying government officials and politicians to secure Sarabjit’s release. Amnesty International has ranked Pakistan second in the world for the number of convicts facing death sentence. The decision on clemency for Sarabjit seems to be finally moving towards a positive side.
