Krishna renews appeal for Sarabjit’s release

Sarabjit Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur weeps as she meets External Affairs Minister S M Krishna in New Delhi yesterday.

External Affairs Minister S M Krishna has assured the family of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner on death row in Pakistan on terrorism charges, that the government would try to get him released, a family member said yesterday.
Singh’s sister Dalbir Kaur said after meeting Krishna that he had told her “that the matter has been raised with Pakistan several times and India will again take it up during the foreign secretary level talks next month. He said that India will not let him stay in Pakistan jail and my brother will be released soon,” she said.
Shocked by the U-turn on the release of Sarabjit Singh, his family members yesterday held a protest at the Jantar Mantar and met Krishna to seek his release.
Dalbir Kaur, who has led the campaign for Sarabjit’s release in the last few years, said: “Pakistan has played a cruel joke on us and we are again requesting (Pakistan President Asif Ali) Zardari to release Sarabjit.”
Pakistan had done a flip-flop late Tuesday after announcing that Zardari had commuted Sarabjit’s death sentence and that he would be released.
Later, the presidential spokesman said instead of Sarabjit, another Indian prisoner, Surjeet Singh, who has been languishing in Pakistani jails for over three decades on spying charges, would be released.
Sarabjit’s family claims that he had inadvertently crossed over to Pakistan in an inebriated state in August 1990 and was arrested there. He hails from Bhikhiwind village along the India-Pakistan border, 280km from Chandigarh.
He was later identified as Manjit Singh and accused of planting two bombs in Pakistan which claimed 14 lives. He was sentenced to death by Pakistani courts even though his family here claimed that he was innocent.
Krishna earlier expressed happiness over the release of another Indian prisoner, Surjeet Singh.
“I am happy that Surjeet Singh is released. I hope that Pakistan will also seriously ponder and consider to release Sarbarjit Singh,” Krishna told reporters.
“I welcome this decision (on Surjeet) and further renew our request to the president of Pakistan to release Sarabjit who has been in custody for well over two decades and is serving a death sentence,” Krishna said.
India released an 80-year-old Pakistani doctor last month on humanitarian grounds, after he was convicted of murder and sentenced to life imprisonment following an 18-year-long trial.
In April 2011 Gopal Das, one of Pakistan’s longest-serving Indian prisoners was released after Zardari intervened in his case.
Upon his release, Das admitted he was an Indian spy and lashed out at the Indian authorities for abandoning him during his 23 years in jail.