Pakistan considers mercy plea for Sarabjit Singh

By Mohsin Raza

LAHORE, Pakistan (Reuters) - Pakistan said on Thursday it was actively considering an Indian plea for clemency for Sarabjit Singh, an Indian man condemned to death for spying, as his family met him for the first time in 18 years in a Pakistani jail.

President Pervez Musharraf last month rejected a mercy plea from Singh, but deferred his execution until April 30 after a request from the Indian government.

"The issue is under active consideration," Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman Mohammad Sadiq told a weekly news conference.

"We have received a request from the Indian government ... and a decision will be taken in due course," he added.

His comments came as members of Singh's family including his wife, two daughters, a sister and her husband, visited him in a prison in the eastern city of Lahore.

"We never thought that we would be able to see him after 18 years and in such a situation. It saddened us but at the same time, it was a moment of joy for us," sister Dalbir Kaur later told reporters.

Singh was sentenced to death in 1991 for spying and carrying out four bomb blasts that killed 14 people, but his family said he was innocent and had crossed the border into Pakistan accidentally in 1990 while he was drunk.

"I can assure you my brother had nothing to do with it. We have no links with terrorism," Kaur said when asked about the bombs.