Asif Ali Zardari frees Indian who spent 27 years in Lahore jail

Pakistani president Asif Ali Zardari on Sunday remitted the remaining jail term of an Indian prisoner, who has been languishing in the Lahore central jail for 27 years, on humanitarian grounds. Gopal Dass was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1987 and was slated to be released by the end of this year.

Presidential spokesperson Farhatullah Babar declined to specify Dass’s crime, but it has been reported that he was convicted for spying. Babar said Zaradari acted on an appeal made by India’s Supreme Court (SC) to the government of Pakistan a couple of weeks ago.

He added that it was a goodwill gesture by Pakistani PM Yousuf Raza Gilani, who will watch the India-Pakistan semi-final in Mohali on Wednesday.

After Dass filed a writ petition through his brother, a bench of justices Markandey Katju and Gyan Sudha Misra said: We cannot give any directions to Pakistani authorities because we have no jurisdiction over them. However, that does not prevent us from requesting them to consider the appeal of Dass for releasing him on humanitarian grounds by remitting the remaining part of his sentence.”

“We are very happy. I’m speechless,” Anant Vir, Gopal’s brother, said.