Sarabjit Singh, is an Indian citizen, currently imprisoned in solitary confinement in Pakistan. Pakistani authorities consider him as Manjit Singh, convicted for his alleged involvement in 1990 serial bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that killed 14 people. Sarabjit claims that he is a farmer and victim of mistaken identity, who strayed into Pakistan from his village located on the border, three months after the bombings.[1][2]
He was given death sentence in 1991, but his hanging was repeatedly postponed. He is imprisoned in the Kot Lakhpat jail since 1990. So far five mercy petitions have been filed on his behalf, in which Sarabjit maintains that he has suffered twenty two years of prison for a crime he never committed. On 26th June 2012, it was reported that Pakistan's President had ordered his release after the petition was filed on 28th May earlier this year.[3] 5 hours later this pardon was revoked and it was claimed that another prisoner Surjeet Singh was released not Sarabjit.[4][5] The confusion over the release of Surjeet Singh instead of Sarabjit Singh has proved to be an international embarrassment for Pakistan government.[6][7]
Sarabjit hails from the Bhikhiwind village located along the India-Pakistan border in Tarn Taran district of Punjab, India.[8] Sarabjit was married and had two daughters during the time of his arrest on the border by Pakistani authorities. His sister Dalbir Kaur had been working for his release.[9]
On the night of August 28, 1990 Sarabjit was arrested near his village on the Indo-Pakistani border near Kasur by Pakistani border guards. Sarabjit claimed that he was a poor farmer who was drunk and had strayed off the border. The security forces had arrested him in an inebriated state, as a case of mistaken identity.[9]
He was initially apprehended for illegally crossing the India-Pakistani border. But after eight days, Pakistani police implicated him in the terrorist bombings.[10] The Pakistani authorities alleged he was Manjit Singh, responsible for the string of 4 blasts in Faislabad and Lahore in 1990, in which 14 people were killed.[11] It was alleged that he was arrested while returning back into India after carrying out the bombings.[12] He was accused of working for Indian intelligence and was viewed as a terrorist in Pakistan.[13] He was convicted of spying and carrying the bomb blasts and was handed death penalty.[9]
In 1991 he was given death sentence under the Pakistan's Army Act. [3] His sentence was upheld by the High Court and later by the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court rejected his mercy petition in March 2006 and upheld the death sentence. On March 3 2008 President Pervez Musharraf had rejected his mercy petition.[2]
Shaukat Salim, a key witness in the case against Sarabjit, was caught on tape retracting his statement on April 26, 2008. Salim's father and other relatives were killed in the attack. Although In court and he had said that Sarabjit was the one who had planted the bomb. But later on he accepted that he had made the statements implicating Sarabjit under pressure from the Pakistani police. Meanwhile, Sarabjit's lawyer Abdul Rana Hamid told Indian News Channel CNN-IBN that Salim's statements have no value as they were never recorded in court.[10]
Pakistani human rights activist Ansar Burney had claimed that none of the four FIRs lodged in regard to the bombings contained Sarabjit’s name or his description. Sarabjit was arrested on the night of Aug 30, 1990, at Kasur Border for illegally crossing the India-Pakistani border. But after eight days, the police implicated him in the terrorist bombings. He had not been arrested red handed.[10] Burney also pointed out that a single magistrate had recorded the statements of the witnesses in all the four cases, one in Faislabad and three in Lahore. In spite of fact that the cases were lodged in four different police stations and two different districts. He said four different magistrates should have recorded the statements. None of the statements recorded in front of the magistrate was taken under oath. Sarabjit was also not been presented in an identity parade in front of a magistrate. Rather he was brought in front of witnesses, in the absence of a magistrate, and the police informed the witnesses that he was the culprit. This was also said by Shaukat Salim, a key witness of the case.[10]
Sarabjit Singh’s relatives claim he is a simple farmer who was arrested after he strayed across the Pakistani border from his northern frontier hometown of Bhikiwind in Punjab state while drunk in 1990. His wife Sukh Prit Kaur, a resident of Bhikhiwind village of district Tarantaran, claimed he left to plough his fields near Wagah Border on August 28, 1990, but never returned[citation needed]. She said the family launched a search but could not find any clue to his whereabouts for nine months and finally they received a letter from Sarabjit informing them that he was caught by Pakistani border forces when he mistakenly crossed the border under the influence of liquor.
Singh's relatives, including his wife Sukh Prit Kaur, two daughters Swapan Deep and Poonam Kaur, sister and her husband, went to Pakistan in a last-ditch attempt to save him in March 2008 when his hanging was to be carried out. They met former prime minister Nawaz Sharif, and other Pakistani politicians for his release.[2] Sharif said,"After seeing the plight of the members of Sarabjit's family who have come to Pakistan, any person can feel the pain they are going through."[2]
"We are hopeful that the government of Pakistan will release Sarabjit Singh after reviewing his death sentence and our visit to Pakistan will not prove futile",said Sarabjit’s wife at Gurdwara Dera Sahib after her arrival at the city via Wagah on Wednesday.
External Affairs Minister K. Natwar Singh took up Sarabjit Singh’s case with Pakistan High Commissioner Aziz Ahmed Khan and urged him to convey Delhi’s hope that Islamabad would treat the matter as a humanitarian issue.[2]
In April 2008, a group of Pakistani students organized a march, seeking withdrawal of all official moves to pardon Sarabjit. They also demanded a boycott of western products and culture and promotion of Islamic teachings. [14][15]
On June 26, 2012 It was reported both by Pakistani and International media that President Asif Ali Zardari had signed a summary sent by the interior ministry of Pakistan seeking reduction of Sarabjit death sentence to life in prison. A life sentence in Pakistan is generally for 14 years,[2] and Sarabjit having spent 22 years spent in jail, was to be shortly released. The news of his pardon and imminent release release initiated celebrations in his hometown near the Pakistani border, and Indian foreign minister issued a statement of appreciation to Islamabad for the gesture.[1] This news was a cause of debate and discussion in media and public. The Islamic fundamentalist groups condemned the pardon and pressurized the government against the decision. The pardon to Sarabjit was later retracted by the Pakistani Government agencies saying that there was a "confusion" and another prisoner Surjeet Singh who was pardoned in 1989 is being released instead of Sarabjit.[1][5] Sarabjit's family was devastated with the news and termed the incident as a deliberate and cruel joke.[4][16] The Pakistani media called the goof up as an international embarassment.[7]