Petition for reopening Sarabjit case
Islamabad: A Constitutional petition has been filed in Pakistan's Supreme Court for reopening and re-adjudicating the case of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national currently on death row in a prison in Lahore following his conviction for alleged involvement in bomb attacks in 1990.
The petition filed in the Lahore Registry of the Supreme Court yesterday by Sarabjit's counsel Awais Sheikh also sought a review of his appeal against his conviction on terrorism charges.
Sheikh contended that the man behind the bomb blasts in 1990 was actually Manjeet Singh, with whom Sarbajit had been confused.
"Manjeet was arrested in India in December 2010. He is an international terrorist and member of a criminal syndicate," Sheikh said.
Manjeet was the real culprit as he often visited Pakistan, the lawyer said.
"Even when the blasts took place in 1990, he was present in Pakistan," he said.
Sarabjit was convicted for allegedly carrying out bombings in Lahore, Kasur and Faisalabad that killed 14 people.
The Lahore High Court awarded him death sentence in January 2003 in four different cases and the apex court upheld the verdict.
Pakistani authorities indefinitely put off Sarabjit's hanging following the intervention of Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani in 2008.
Officials have said only President Asif Ali Zardari can decide on granting clemency to him.
Sarabjit's family says he had mistakenly crossed the border in an inebriated condition and was wrongly accused of being involved in the attacks.
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