Sarabjit’s Mercy Plea Dismissed; Pak President’s Clemency Last Hope

Pakistan’s Supreme Court has dismissed Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh’s review petition challenging the death penalty served on him in 1991. Sarabjit’s fate now depends at the mercy of a presidential pardon by Asif Ali Zardari.

The three member Supreme Court bench headed by Justice Raja Fayyaz Ahmed maintained an anti-terrorism court’s decision that tried Sarabjit for his alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in 1990 that killed 14 people in Pakistan.

The bench dismissed 43-year-old Sarabjit’s review petition after his counsel again failed to appear in the court and he was convicted as there was nobody to defend him.

Sarabjit’s counsel had failed to appear in the court for the past few hearings, including the last one on Monday.
“I cannot be present in the court as I’m a government lawyer,” said Rana Abdul Hamid, the lawyer who was representing Sarabjit.
“Other lawyer, who was to represent him, was in some other court and before he could have reached there the petition was dismissed,” said Hamid.

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

“I cannot be present in the court as I’m a government lawyer,” said Rana Abdul Hamid, the lawyer who was representing Sarabjit.

“Other lawyer, who was to represent him, was in some other court and before he could have reached there the petition was dismissed,” said Hamid.

Now, a presidential pardon is the only hope for Sarabjit, whose trial stirred up much public and media hype in the two countries.

His review mercy petition is now pending in the President’s office.

“I cannot really comment on this now,” Presidential spokesman Farhattullah Babar said when asked to comment on the court order.

Sarabjit’s lawyer Hamid said that he had been unable to appear in the court after he was last year appointed an additional advocate general by Punjab government.