Zardari assures India on Sarabjit Singh case

Bringing some hope to the family of Sarabjit Singh, Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari on Friday assured India that he will consider the case of the Indian prisoner who has been on death row in the country for over 20 years.

This was conveyed by Zardari to External Affairs Minister S M Krishna who called on the Pakistani president in Islamabad on Friday.

Zardari asked officials to take note of the details of Sarabjit's case, official sources said.

Sarabjit, now 49, was convicted and sentenced to death for alleged involvement in a string of bombings in Punjab in 1990 that killed 14 people.

He has maintained that his case was one of mistaken identity.

Sarabjit recently alleged that the jail authorities in Lahore were serving him "unhygienic" food, which was "difficult to eat", and he was being mistreated.

Earlier in the day, Interior Minister Rehman Malik said that Pakistan had given India special consular access to Sarabjit, who is lodged in a Lahore jail, following his complaints of ill treatment.

The special consular access was given on Wednesday, he said, adding that Sarabjit would be treated properly.

In May this year, Sarabjit sent a fresh clemency appeal to President Zardari, a fifth one seeking a pardon.

On the issue of pardon for the Indian national, Malik said the matter would be decided according to the law.

Sarabjit is currently being held at Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore and has been on death row for over 20 years.

Following his complaints, the High Commission of India in Islamabad had approached Pakistan's foreign ministry seeking special consular access to Sarabhjit.

During the meeting between Zardari and Krishna, the two leaders also discussed other bilateral issues and the progress made so far, the sources said.