SARABJIT CASE: PAKISTAN
Black warrant
Preceding incidents work against his release

Will Sarabjit Singh go down the gallows or get to return to India? His case got badly jeopardised, “as Kashmir Singh, an Indian citizen, who was arrested by Pakistan, for spying against them, after his release, went about saying in India that he had engaged in spying for India in Pakistan, which went down badly against the Pakistan government in that country,” said Prof. Uma Singh, Project Coordinator, Special Area Studies Programme on Pakistan Studies, Jawaharlal Nehru University. Another case, which is working against Sarabjit, is that recently, a Pakistani national, Khalid Mehmood, died in Indian custody, after being arrested, as Indian government contends, he was in possession of suspicious documents while Pakistan authorities contend that he went to India only to watch India-Pakistan cricket tourney. Adding to this unfavorable atmosphere is that there are at least 50 Pakistanis, awaiting the hangman’s noose, after being charged with various terrorism related acts in Pakistan, and Sarabjit’s clemency would set a bad precedent. But there could be hope for Sarabjit, as an Indian government source said, when asked about the certainty of his hanging, “Has the black warrant been issued?” “It wouldn’t affect Indo-Pak relations as prisoners, a perennial problem between the two, have never affected it,” Singh said.

B&E edit bureau: Rajeev Kumar Singh
3.4.2008