“No sympathy for Sarabjit” - says pak minister

Pakistan’s caretaker minister and Human Rights activist Ansar Burney has said that he will not help Sarabjit Singh, as he has ”no sympathy for terrorists”.

Sarabjit, an Indian national, faces a death warrant slated for April 1 in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.

”Sarabjit Singh was a terrorist, I have no sympathy with him. There is a big difference between Kashmir Singh and Sarabjit Singh. Sarabjit Singh is accused of martyring many people here, and I have no sympathy for terrorists,” said Ansar Burney, Minister for Human Rights.

On being questioned as to why he helped Kashmir Singh, the former Indian prisoner, accused of spying in Pakistan, Burney defended himself. ”Kashmir Singh was accused of spying only, and for that he had spent 35 years in jail. He has not gone from here without being duly punished,” he said.

Precarious grounds

A dead man will now decide whether Sarabjit Singh, the Indian accused of bombing Pakistani cities will get a second chance at life.

Pakistan has linked Sarabjit’s mercy petition to Khalid Mehmood’s death. Khalid Mehmood was a Pakistani spy who died at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences last month. Pakistan claims he was tortured and killed. ”After receiving the body of Khalid Mehmood, things have hardened and it has become difficult for Sarabjit’s mercy plea,” said Ansar Burney.

But India insists Khalid died of natural causes and the post-mortem report of the All India Institute of Medical Sciences says as much. The government claims Khalid was regularly produced in courts, where he made no reference of being tortured.

Unlike Sarabjit, who crossed over accidentally, Khalid Mehmood came to India in 2005 to watch an Indo-Pak cricket match and never returned. A year later, he was arrested in Faridabad on charges of spying. Three others, including a retired Indian soldier were arrested along with him. He was handed back to the local police in May 2006. Soon after, he fell sick and was treated at Delhi’s Safdarjung Hospital and AIIMS.

As Sarabjit’s family waits for a pardon, top government officials claim Pakistan has purposely linked Sarabjit’s case with Khalid’s. This act has made sure that Sarabjit’s mercy plea becomes more difficult to entertain and silence all those who have taken up the cause.

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