NEW DELHI, Sept. 6 (UPI) -- Pakistan has assured India alleged Indian spy Sarabjit Singh, who is facing a death sentence, will not be hanged.
"The Indian understanding is that Pakistan Supreme Court verdict would not be implemented means Sarabjit Singh will not be hanged," The Hindu newspaper said Tuesday.
Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh sent a message to Pakistan and External Affairs Minister Natwar Singh took up the case with Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan.
"(Sarabjit) Singh could be granted clemency and eventually released," said a government source in his South Block office.
India says Singh, a native of Bhikhiwind village near the Indian-Pakistan border in the northern state of Punjab, crossed the border while drunk in 1990. The Pakistan High Court held him responsible for bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan. The Supreme Court upheld the decision.
"He is innocent and has nothing to do with blasts in Pakistan," his family members said.
New Delhi was informed Sarabjit's case was an emotional one following the attention it received in the media. India praised Pakistan's positive attitude.
Two key witnesses in the case went hostile and told TV channels they were forced to give testimony against Singh by the Pakistani police. The Indian Foreign Ministry confirmed Singh was an Indian national and this was formally conveyed to Pakistan.
Singh's lawyer in Pakistan, Rana Abdul Hamid, said he would file a review petition following fresh statements of key witnesses in the case.
