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Another Indian on
death row in Pak: Burney
WSN Bureau
Islamabad:
After Kashmir Singh, leading Pakistani rights activist Ansar Burney
has found Karpal Singh, another Sikh on death row, languishing in a
jail in Punjab province since 1992.
Burney, former Pakistan human rights minister, said that the workers
of his organisation had come across Karpal Singh in the course of
their welfare work in prisons. Karpal, who hails from Gurdaspur, was
convicted of murder and destroying property in 1992, and is
currently in a prison in Punjab province.
“Interestingly, while the case was registered at the railway station
in Faisalabad, Karpal Singh was convicted by an anti-terrorism court
in Lahore,” Burney said, expressing doubts about whether Karpal had
been given a fair trial.
Burney had earlier facilitated the release of Kashmir Singh, also on
death row, on March 3 this year after spotting him in a prison in
Lahore where he had been languishing for 34 years on the charges of
spying.
During his years in prison, Karpal's name had also been changed to
Fateh Mohammed. Burney said his organisation was currently trying to
locate Karpal's family in India. All that is known about Karpal's
family is that his father's name is Das Singh.
Burney's revelation came at a time when a four-member Indian team of
bilateral judicial committee on prisoners is touring Pakistan to
visit the Indian nationals lodged in this country's jails.
11
June,
2008
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