Pak's SC dismisses Sarabjit's review petition

Rezaul H Laskar

Islamabad, Jun 24 (PTI) Pakistan's Supreme Court on
Wednesday dismissed a review petition filed by Indian national
Sarabjit Singh and upheld the death sentence given to him for
his alleged involvement in bomb attacks in 1990.

A three-member bench led by Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed
dismissed Sarabjit's review petition on merit and upheld the
death sentence awarded to him by an anti-terrorism court in
1991. The apex court gave its verdict after his counsel failed
to appear in court.

Sarabjit's counsel had failed to appear in court for
the past few hearings, including the last one on Monday.

Rana Abdul Hamid, the lawyer who was representing
Sarabjit, had been unable to appear in court after he was last
year appointed an additional advocate general by Punjab
province.

Sarabjit has been on death row since he was convicted
for alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in 1990 that
killed 14 people.

Sarabjit was set to be hanged on April one last year
though Pakistani authorities put off his execution
indefinitely after Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani
intervened in the matter.

Following an appeal by Sarabjit, the Lahore High Court
had upheld his death sentence in 2003. The apex court too had
upheld his death sentence in August 2005. Former President
Pervez Musharraf dismissed Sarabjit's mercy petition last
year.

Sarabjit's execution was initially deferred for 30
days by Musharraf last year. This was done so that the
Pakistan People's Party-led government, which had just assumed
power at the time, could review his case following India's
appeal for clemency.

In October last year, then Law Minister Farooq Naek
met Sarabjit at Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore to examine his case
so that President Asif Ali Zardari could decide whether to
pardon him. There has been no movement in this matter since
then.

Naek, who is now Chairman of the Senate or upper house
of parliament, had pointed out that only the President had the
powers to pardon or remit Sarabjit's sentence as his mercy
petition had been dismissed by the Supreme Court.

Sarabjit's lawyer Hamid said, "The petition has been
cancelled because our lawyer did not reach the court on time."

"I cannot be present in the court as I'm a government
lawyer. Other lawyer, who was to represent him, was in some
other court and before he could have reached there the
petition was dismissed," Hamid said.

He, however, said, "we will restore the petition."

"Since, all his mercy petitions have already been
dismissed, only President can pardon him," Hamid said.

Asked about the Supreme Court order, Presidential
Spokesman Farhattullah Babar said, "I cannot really comment on
this now."

"Let me see the Supreme Court verdict. Let us
consolidate the thing, then I'll talk. I cannot talk just now
on this," he said. PTI AM