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India hopes Sarabjit will be shown ‘some leniency’
| Rajya Sabha members want issue taken up with Pakistan |
DEJECTED FAMILY: Sarabjit’s daughters Poonam and Swapandeep and his wife Sukhpreet Kaur at Bhikhiwind village near Amritsar on Monday.
NEW DELHI: Even as political parties across the spectrum sought clemency for Sarabjit Singh, who is facing the gallows in Pakistan, India on Monday said it had “limited options” and hoped for “some leniency” from Pakistan, which sentenced him to death for his alleged role in the Lahore serial bomb blasts in 1990.
Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur called on Congress general secretary Rahul Gandhi at 10 Janpath here and urged him to take up her brother’s case with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and party president Sonia Gandhi.
In the Rajya Sabha, members joined hands to seek a House resolution against the death sentence, making Chairman Hamid Ansari say he would request the government to respond to the issue. “We all understand the issue and we are all concerned about it…. the government may be requested to state its position.”
After the demand, Brinda Karat (Communist Party of India – Marxist) raised the issue during zero hour.
She demanded that India take up the matter with the new regime in Pakistan so as to prevent execution of the death sentence, and wanted the government to take care of Sarabjit’s family.
Minister of State for External Affairs Anand Sharma told newspersons that India had “limited options” in this case and could only request Pakistan to consider the humanitarian aspects.
Mr. Sharma said:
“In the Sarabjit Singh case, we had conveyed to Pakistan the strong sentiments of our people and requested for some clemency and reprieve to him. We hope that considering the humanitarian aspects, some leniency will be shown to him.
“It has been our endeavour to ensure that those prisoners in both countries, who have completed their sentences, are released for which a committee has been set up.”
Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said that while India did not wish to interfere in the affairs of a sovereign country, “it is our duty and legitimate concern” to point out that all aspects were scrutinised and a humanitarian view was taken, particularly because of the “serious allegations of mistaken identity and also because the process when implemented [hanging] is irreversible.”
The BJP drew a parallel with the case of Mohd. Haneef, who was detained for some time in Australia for his alleged links with the attempted terror attack in Glasgow and wondered why Dr. Singh was not having “sleepless nights” in Sarabjit’s case.
“When Dr. Haneef was arrested in Australia, the Prime Minister said he was having sleepless nights. But when an innocent Indian is facing death in Pakistan, he is having sound sleep,” party vice-president Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said.
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