'No request from India on clemency for Sarabjit'

Pakistan on Tuesday said it has not received any official communication from the Indian government seeking clemency for Sarabjit Singh, who will be hanged on April 1 for his alleged involvement in terrorist attacks in the country.

Interior ministry spokesman Javed Iqbal Cheema said there has not been any official contact by the Indian government on the issue of clemency for Sarabjit, who is set to be executed following the rejection of his mercy petition by President Pervez Musharraf.

"As far as I know, his hanging is fixed for April 1. We have not received any official communication (from India) in this regard," he said when asked if the Indian government had submitted any plea on Sarabjit's behalf.

However, sources said the Indian government had not yet received any official confirmation from Pakistani authorities about Sarabjit's execution. The Pakistan government is also yet to respond to the Indian High Commission's request for consular access to Sarabjit to confirm the reports that he is to be hanged, the sources told PTI.

"There are only media reports that Sarabjit is to be hanged and consular access had been sought to confirm these reports," a source said.

Sarabjit was sentenced to death in 1991 for his alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that killed 14 people. His family denies he was a spy as claimed by Pakistan and insists he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory.