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Summary Federal government has clarified that Surjeet Singh not Sarabjit Sing will be released.
Presidential Spokesman said that authorities had taken steps for the release of another Indian prisoner named Surjeet Singh who has been jailed for three decades.Presidential Spokesman Senator Farhatullah Babar, in a statement given to an Indian media outlet, has clarified that the prisoner, whose death sentence was converted to life imprisonment, was actually “Surjit Singh” and not “Sarabjit Singh.”“I think there is some confusion. First, it is not a case of pardon. More importantly, it is not Sarabjit. It is Surjit Singh, son of Sucha Singh. His death sentence was commuted in 1989 by then president Ghulam Ishaq Khan on the advice of then premier Benazir Bhutto,” said Babar.“Keeping him in jail any longer will be illegal confinement,” he added.Any references to President Zardari in the entire matter were “out of context,” the presidential spokesman said.Surjit Singh, currently being held in Kot Lakhpat Jail in Lahore, has been in Pakistani captivity for over 30 years. He was captured near the border with India on charges of spying during the era of military ruler General Ziaul Haq.
