Sarabjit Singh, a victim of fallout of Indo-Pak chill

Sarabjit Singh has become a victim of the blow-hot-blow-cold relations between India and Pakistan.

Last April, Sarabjit, who has been on the death row for almost two decades, was spared because there was optimism that the Indo-Pak ties would improve after the installation of a democratic government in Pakistan. But now, he may have to bear the brunt of the chill following last November’s Mumbai terror strikes.

His only lifeline is a pardon from president Asif Ali Zardari. But signs at the moment do not look too good, especially after Zardari was bluntly told by prime minister Manmohan Singh at their last meeting in Russia that Pakistan should crack down on terror groups operating from its soil against India.

Zardari’s decision to pardon Sarbjit largely depends on whether Indian foreign secretary Shivshankar Menon and his Pakistani counterpart Salman Bashir can break the ice next month. The meeting will attempt to revive the stalled peace talks, and, possibly, pave way for another Indo-Pak meet on the sidelines of the Non-Allied Movement summit in Egypt next month. If there is progress, chances of a pardon for Sarabjit brighten.

In October 2008, Pakistani law minister Farooq Hamid Naek had met Sarabjit before giving his views to president Zardari about an amnesty to the Indian prisoner. But after 26/11 strikes on Mumbai, the amnesty process came to an abrupt halt, and the mercy petition has since been gathering dust in Zardari’s office.