By Muhammad Najeeb, IANS,
Islamabad : A decision on Sarabjit Singh, the Indian prisoner on death row in a Pakistani jail, is likely Wednesday, an official here indicated Tuesday, without going into specifics.
Sarabjit’s case came up for discussion as the home secretaries of Pakistan and India began their fifth round of talks Tuesday to review the visa regime among other issues. The talks will conclude Wednesday.
“People will not be disappointed by our decision,” the official replied cryptically when asked whether Sarabjit will be released.
Sarabjit’s mercy petition is pending with the president. The Lahore High Court sentenced him to death for his involvement in bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan and the Supreme Court upheld the decision.
Interior Secretary Kamal Shah is leading the Pakistani side at the talks, while Home Secretary Madhukar Gupta is leading the Indian delegation.
The talks seek to strengthen the efforts by both countries to discuss issues relating to terrorism, counterfeit currency, drug trafficking, exchange of prisoners and the visa regime.
Officials here said that both the sides took up the three-point agenda Tuesday – the immediate release of prisoners, the joint mechanism on cross border terrorism and new mechanism on information sharing.
“They will also talk on other issues tomorrow (Wednesday),” an official said.