ISLAMABAD: Observers here are intrigued on more than one count at the comments made by Pakistan Law Minister Wasi Zafar on Friday that President Pervez Musharraf had no power to pardon the alleged Indian spy, Sarabjit Singh, who is facing the gallows.

The Minister's comments came a day after the Supreme Court turned down one of the four identical petitions filed by the lawyer of Mr. Singh seeking a review of its verdict upholding the award of death sentence by lower courts for alleged acts of spying and carrying out series of bomb blasts in different cities of Pakistan.

The Law Minister, who rarely speaks in public, chose to make comments about the eligibility or otherwise of Gen. Musharraf even though three more petitions of Mr. Singh are pending before the apex court.

Mr. Zafar has argued that under section 402C of Pakistan's Criminal Procedure Code (Cr. PC) in the `hurt and murder' cases, no one else except the legal heirs of the victims can pardon the accused. "So no one else — not even the President — has the power to do it," he said.

However under Article 45 of Pakistan's Constitution, the President has the absolute power to "grant pardon, reprieve and respite and to remit, suspend or commute any sentence passed by any court, tribunal or other authority".

In December 2000, Gen. Musharraf invoked powers under this provision of the Constitution to pardon the former Prime Minister, Nawaz Sharif, in a number of cases — including the charge of endangering his life and that of other passengers on board a flight arriving from Colombo.

The question of whether or not the President had the powers to pardon a convict was hotly debated in September last year following observations made by Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed that under the Islamic law, only the kin of the victims could pardon an accused.

Foreign Minister Khurshid Mehmood Kasuri had concurred with the view of those who argued that the powers of President under Article 45 of the Constitution to pardon a convict were absolute and were not qualified.

After the Pakistan Supreme Court on Thursday rejected the review petition of Mr. Singh, his lawyer, Rana Abdul Hameed, had said he was preparing to file a mercy petition on behalf of his client before Gen. Musharraf.

"The Minister is not correct. Article 45 of the Constitution of Pakistan grants power to President to pardon and it has not been amended and until it has been, the President has the power to pardon," he said.

Mr. Hameed said he was planning to file a mercy petition after the Supreme Court gives its verdict .

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