Court frees Pakistani scientist after 20 years

AFP/New Delhi

The Supreme Court yesterday quashed the murder conviction of an 82-year-old Pakistani who spent 20 years in jail, allowing him to return home in a move likely to help diplomatic ties.

Khalil Chisti, a microbiologist, was arrested and charged with murder in 1992 after a brawl in Ajmer which he was visiting for a family wedding. He was convicted in 2010 by a local court and given a life sentence.

After freeing him on bail last year on account of his age, the Supreme Court quashed the murder charge but upheld a conviction for voluntarily causing hurt.

“Truth has prevailed in the end,” Chisti said after the verdict, which ordered authorities to return his passport. “I will be going to my country after an endless wait.”

Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari had raised Chisti’s case during his meeting with Prime Minister Manmohan Singh earlier this year.

The court’s decision is a further boost to so-called “confidence-building measures” between the two countries and comes a day ahead of a visit to India by Pakistan’s Home Minister Rehman Malik.