I am planning to meet prime minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi. We are also planning to seek the assistance of Shahrukh Khan, who is very popular in Pakistan.
CHANDIGARH: For the family of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian national held in Pakistan for alleged terror activities, it is a period of both hope and despair.
After Kashmir Singh was released by Pakistan last week, Sarabjit’s family has started hoping again. Having been on death row for more than a year, his mercy petition has been lying with Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf.
The day Kashmir Singh was escorted to the Wagha border by Pakistan’s minister for human rights, Sarabjit’s sister Dilbir Kaur met him on the Indo-Pak border and presented him a memorandum to seek immediate release of her brother.
While the minister promised to take up the matter with the president, a day later there were unconfirmed reports that the Pakistan president has turned down Sarabjit’s mercy petition. Dilbir refuses to believe it. Excerpts from an interview.
How true are reports that the Pakistan president has rejected for the second time the mercy petition of Sarabjit?
I do not know. I saw it in newspapers only. I spoke to Sarabjit’s lawyer Rana Abdul Hamid in Lahore on Friday. He did not confirm it. On the contrary, he expressed confidence that Sarabjit would be spared.
What do you intend to do now?
I am planning to meet prime minister Manmohan Singh in Delhi. We are also planning to seek the assistance of cinestar Shahrukh Khan, who is very popular in Pakistan. Earlier also he had promised to help the family.
As soon as I meet the prime minister, I will urge him to take up the case with Pakistan at the earliest as the fate of our entire family is at stake. I will appeal to Pakistan president Pervez Musharraf that since he has given freedom to Kashmir Singh, he should do the same to Sarabjit Singh.
Why do you think Sarabjit’s case has become complicated?
Simply because the Pakistan government has been citing a confession report of some Manjit Singh for his so-called involvement in the bomb blasts in Pakistan in 1990. In a letter to me in 2006 he clarified that the confession had been forcibly extracted from him by the Pakistan officials.
He had nothing to do with the blasts. Even Sukhpreet Kaur, wife of Sarabjit, has informed the Pakistan authorities that her husband was innocent. The Pakistan government has tried him for the offences of some Manjit Singh. It is a case of mistaken identity. “The name of my husband is Sarabjit Singh and the Pakistan Government should leave him,” Sarabjit’s wife had informed his lawyer in 2006.
When did you hear from your brother last?
It was in 2006 soon after the Pakistan Supreme Court had announced death sentence for him. Sarabjit wrote to me from the Lahore prison, where he was detained along with Kashmir Singh.
What did the letter say?
In the letter, written in Gurmukhi, Sarabjit said that some police officer signed on the confession report of Manjit Singh. This could be verified by digging out old files. There is no thumb impression, which is mandatory for such reports. He said his advocate Abdul Hamid Rana and the Indian government must stress for the confession report to be made public. That is his only hope.
What else did he write in the letter?
He wrote on his life in the jail where he has many friends. He said he wanted to see his daughters, his wife and his family. “Do my daughters know how to make chappatis? I want to have chappatis prepared by them,” he wrote.
What if your plea for mercy does not bear fruit?
I will launch a public campaign for my brother. I will take out a ‘padyatra’ from Amritsar to Lahore, if need be.
b_ajay@dnaindia.net
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