Sirji, Sarabjeet or Surjeet ?...

[ice_man]

It a shame that Pakistan was ready release one person and they change stance after getting warning from terrorist organizations. It made the news in the international headlines and all main stream Pakistani media criticized it in their editorials.

who told you this!!!!!! which media do you read!!! Pakistan wanted to release this man! be happy we let this DOG go!


I went to Pakistan to spy, confesses Sarjeet Singh

LAHORE: Speaking to Indian media just minutes after he crossed the Wagah Border into India, Sarjeet Singh confessed to his offense, saying that he went to Pakistan for spying, Express News reported on Thursday.

After the Ministry of Law and Justice approved his release on Tuesday, life sentence prisoner Sarjeet Singh crossed the Wagah Border, and after 27 years, stepped on his native soil just a few minutes prior to this confession of being guilty.

Family and friends rushed to greet Singh as he reached India.

Speaking to the media on the Pakistani side of the Wagah Border, Singh, now over 60 years old, said that both sides should release prisoners.

“India should release Pakistani prisoners and Pakistan should release Indian prisoners, that is all I want to say,” he said in Punjabi.

Upon being asked as to whether he would ever come back to Pakistan, he said, “I don’t want to come back to Pakistan.”

When asked whether he did not want to come back because he did not like the country, Singh dispelled the notion saying he actually did like the country but said that was not the reason.

“I was accused of being a spy,” he said. “If I come back, agencies will have doubts that I am here to spy again, that is why I will not come back.”

He said that he was grateful for the way Pakistanis treated him.

Waiting on the other side of the border, in anticipation of his father’s return, Singh’s son said that he wished Sarabjeet was being released too.

“Both of them coming back together would be even better,” he said. “Sarabjeet’s family would also be as happy as we are.”

When asked what the first thing the family would do after his father’s return, he said, “We will go straight to Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) and pay our respects.”

“After that, we will go home and celebrate,” he added.

Sarjeet/ Sarabjeet mix-up was an honest mistake

Enthusiastically, Singh said that he would get Sarabjeet released too. “I will get it done soon. We will meet ministers to get him released,” he said.

When asked about Sarabjeet’s state, Singh said that he was “in good health” and that he was “sane”.

“I used to meet him every other week, he roams freely in the prison,” added Singh.

Dispelling rumors of maltreatment, Singh said, “No Indian prisoner is dying in Pakistan, nobody is dying of hunger or sickness.”

He said that those who the doctors are unable to cure are sent to a hospital in the city. “There is a Jinnah Hospital there like we have the Chandigarh Hospital here,” said Singh. “They send the sick prisoners there who are brought back after treatment.”

Speaking on the case of mistaken identities, Singh defended Pakistan saying that it was an honest mistake. “There is little difference in the way Sarabjeet and Surjeet are written in Urdu,” he said.

He referred to Advisor to the Prime Minister of Interior affairs Rehman Malik’s interview and said it was him who cleared out the matter. “Their former home minister gave an interview to newspaper reporters and said that Sarabjeet’s documents and mine had been separated,” Singh said.

“ He(Malik) was the one who said that the one who is to be released is Sarjeet Singh, not Sarabjeet,” he said, adding, “He said ‘Sarjeet’s papers are here, he is being released and we will do so within 48 hours’”.

When quizzed further by the media, an irritated Singh said, “I don’t know about this (the Sarabjeet mix-up), I read newspapers. I am not a minister or an officer.”

“Did you listen to Rehman Malik’s interview? Then you don’t need to ask this question,” he added.

Following these questions, Singh confessed to his crime saying, “I went there to spy.”

Singh was arrested by Pakistani police on charges of spying during former President Ziaul Haq’s regime and was awarded the death sentence by a court in 1985.

Later in 1989, his punishment was commuted to life imprisonment by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan as part of a general order to commute all death sentences awarded during the military regime.

On Tuesday night, President Asif Ali Zardari ordered for Singh’s release as a goodwill gesture. The convict has already completed his stipulated punishment.

 

[rockstarIN]

Sir wake up Pakistan just released the prisoner and he has entered your country only an hour ago you really need to get your self updated his name is Surjeet Singh and he was in prison longer than Sarbajeet the terrorist

Whoever, the name saga hit the headlines. Its up to you, whom you wanna release....

The released guys was not in death row and already served his sentence.

who told you this!!!!!! which media do you read!!! Pakistan wanted to release this man! be happy we let this DOG go!


I went to Pakistan to spy, confesses Sarjeet Singh

LAHORE: Speaking to Indian media just minutes after he crossed the Wagah Border into India, Sarjeet Singh confessed to his offense, saying that he went to Pakistan for spying, Express News reported on Thursday.

After the Ministry of Law and Justice approved his release on Tuesday, life sentence prisoner Sarjeet Singh crossed the Wagah Border, and after 27 years, stepped on his native soil just a few minutes prior to this confession of being guilty.

Family and friends rushed to greet Singh as he reached India.

Speaking to the media on the Pakistani side of the Wagah Border, Singh, now over 60 years old, said that both sides should release prisoners.

“India should release Pakistani prisoners and Pakistan should release Indian prisoners, that is all I want to say,” he said in Punjabi.

Upon being asked as to whether he would ever come back to Pakistan, he said, “I don’t want to come back to Pakistan.”

When asked whether he did not want to come back because he did not like the country, Singh dispelled the notion saying he actually did like the country but said that was not the reason.

“I was accused of being a spy,” he said. “If I come back, agencies will have doubts that I am here to spy again, that is why I will not come back.”

He said that he was grateful for the way Pakistanis treated him.

Waiting on the other side of the border, in anticipation of his father’s return, Singh’s son said that he wished Sarabjeet was being released too.

“Both of them coming back together would be even better,” he said. “Sarabjeet’s family would also be as happy as we are.”

When asked what the first thing the family would do after his father’s return, he said, “We will go straight to Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) and pay our respects.”

“After that, we will go home and celebrate,” he added.

Sarjeet/ Sarabjeet mix-up was an honest mistake

Enthusiastically, Singh said that he would get Sarabjeet released too. “I will get it done soon. We will meet ministers to get him released,” he said.

When asked about Sarabjeet’s state, Singh said that he was “in good health” and that he was “sane”.

“I used to meet him every other week, he roams freely in the prison,” added Singh.

Dispelling rumors of maltreatment, Singh said, “No Indian prisoner is dying in Pakistan, nobody is dying of hunger or sickness.”

He said that those who the doctors are unable to cure are sent to a hospital in the city. “There is a Jinnah Hospital there like we have the Chandigarh Hospital here,” said Singh. “They send the sick prisoners there who are brought back after treatment.”

Speaking on the case of mistaken identities, Singh defended Pakistan saying that it was an honest mistake. “There is little difference in the way Sarabjeet and Surjeet are written in Urdu,” he said.

He referred to Advisor to the Prime Minister of Interior affairs Rehman Malik’s interview and said it was him who cleared out the matter. “Their former home minister gave an interview to newspaper reporters and said that Sarabjeet’s documents and mine had been separated,” Singh said.

“ He(Malik) was the one who said that the one who is to be released is Sarjeet Singh, not Sarabjeet,” he said, adding, “He said ‘Sarjeet’s papers are here, he is being released and we will do so within 48 hours’”.

When quizzed further by the media, an irritated Singh said, “I don’t know about this (the Sarabjeet mix-up), I read newspapers. I am not a minister or an officer.”

“Did you listen to Rehman Malik’s interview? Then you don’t need to ask this question,” he added.

Following these questions, Singh confessed to his crime saying, “I went there to spy.”

Singh was arrested by Pakistani police on charges of spying during former President Ziaul Haq’s regime and was awarded the death sentence by a court in 1985.

Later in 1989, his punishment was commuted to life imprisonment by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan as part of a general order to commute all death sentences awarded during the military regime.

On Tuesday night, President Asif Ali Zardari ordered for Singh’s release as a goodwill gesture. The convict has already completed his stipulated punishment.

ALL too often, Pakistan and India throw up examples of why normalising relations between the two countries is so difficult. On Tuesday, the Pakistani government set out to announce the imminent release of an Indian prisoner held in a Pakistani prison for many years. The initial indications from the Pakistani side on the identity of the prisoner pointed towards Sarabjeet Singh, a man convicted of committing acts of terrorism on Pakistani soil. Cue the media — in this case largely the Indian media but also joined by its Pakistani counterparts — whipping up a frenzy of coverage and questions. In the absence of a formal confirmation but supported by Pakistani officials with an unfortunate knack for mixing up names, the two countries debated the merits of transferring Sarabjeet Singh to Indian custody. A few hours later, the truth trickled out: the man set to be released was Surjeet Singh, convicted for spying for India during the Zia era. What ought to have been a positive development, then, turned into a fiasco as questions on both sides of the border focused on poor civil-military relations in Pakistan and whether the military had yet again scuttled an initiative by the civilian government. These were questions that could have been easily avoided had government officials here been clearer about whom the government intended to release and the media more careful about verifying the details before running the story.

Having said that, behind the Sarabjeet-Surjeet mix-up lies an important issue: cross-border prisoners in India and Pakistan who have served out their prison terms or are jailed for lengthy periods on flimsy or frivolous grounds. These victims of the Pakistan-India dynamic ought to be spared the personal misery that is heaped on them because the two states cannot work out an arrangement to ensure the timely repatriation of each other’s citizens and, even before that, to ensure that only serious crimes lead to extended detention periods. The 315 Indian fishermen, including 14 teenage boys, who were released yesterday after the intervention of an NGO exemplify the problem: fortunate as they are to be returning to their homes in India, ought they to have been detained and imprisoned for long spells in Pakistan in the first place? The same thing occurs over in India. Surely the two countries can work out some pre-emptive measures at this stage.

Finally, the fierce reaction in some quarters here to the (incorrect) news that Sarabjeet Singh is to be released indicates much work remains to be done for populations on both sides of the Pakistan-India border to better understand and empathise with one another.

Dawn Editorial

 

[Zarvan]

I went to Pakistan to Spy, confesses SarjeetSingh

LAHORE: Speaking to Indian media just minutes after he crossed the Wagah Border into India, Sarjeet Singh confessed to his offense, saying that he went to Pakistan for spying, Express News reported on Thursday.

After the Ministry of Law and Justice approved his release on Tuesday, life sentence prisoner Sarjeet Singh crossed the Wagah Border, and after 27 years, stepped on his native soil just a few minutes prior to this confession of being guilty.

Family and friends rushed to greet Singh as he reached India.
Speaking to the media on the Pakistani side of the Wagah Border, Singh, now over 60 years old, said that both sides should release prisoners.

“India should release Pakistani prisoners and Pakistan should release Indian prisoners, that is all I want to say,” he said in Punjabi.

Upon being asked as to whether he would ever come back to Pakistan, he said, “I don’t want to come back to Pakistan.”
When asked whether he did not want to come back because he did not like the country, Singh dispelled the notion saying he actually did like the country but said that was not the reason.
“I was accused of being a spy,” he said. “If I come back, agencies will have doubts that I am here to spy again, that is why I will not come back.”

He said that he was grateful for the way Pakistanis treated him.
Waiting on the other side of the border, in anticipation of his father’s return, Singh’s son said that he wished Sarabjeet was being released too.

“Both of them coming back together would be even better,” he said. “Sarabjeet’s family would also be as happy as we are.”
When asked what the first thing the family would do after his father’s return, he said, “We will go straight to Harmandir Sahib (the Golden Temple) and pay our respects.”

“After that, we will go home and celebrate,” he added.
Sarjeet/ Sarabjeet mix-up was an honest mistake
Enthusiastically, Singh said that he would get Sarabjeet released too. “I will get it done soon. We will meet ministers to get him released,” he said.

When asked about Sarabjeet’s state, Singh said that he was “in good health” and that he was “sane”.
“I used to meet him every other week, he roams freely in the prison,” added Singh.

Dispelling rumors of maltreatment, Singh said, “No Indian prisoner is dying in Pakistan, nobody is dying of hunger or sickness.”
He said that those who the doctors are unable to cure are sent to a hospital in the city. “There is a Jinnah Hospital there like we have the Chandigarh Hospital here,” said Singh. “They send the sick prisoners there who are brought back after treatment.”
Speaking on the case of mistaken identities, Singh defended Pakistan saying that it was an honest mistake. “There is little difference in the way Sarabjeet and Surjeet are written in Urdu,” he said.

He referred to Advisor to the Prime Minister of Interior affairs Rehman Malik’s interview and said it was him who cleared out the matter. “Their former home minister gave an interview to newspaper reporters and said that Sarabjeet’s documents and mine had been separated,” Singh said.

“ He(Malik) was the one who said that the one who is to be released is Sarjeet Singh, not Sarabjeet,” he said, adding, “He said ‘Sarjeet’s papers are here, he is being released and we will do so within 48 hours’”.

When quizzed further by the media, an irritated Singh said, “I don’t know about this (the Sarabjeet mix-up), I read newspapers. I am not a minister or an officer.”

“Did you listen to Rehman Malik’s interview? Then you don’t need to ask this question,” he added.

Following these questions, Singh confessed to his crime saying, “I went there to spy.”

Singh was arrested by Pakistani police on charges of spying during former President Ziaul Haq’s regime and was awarded the death sentence by a court in 1985.

Later in 1989, his punishment was commuted to life imprisonment by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan as part of a general order to commute all death sentences awarded during the military regime.

On Tuesday night, President Asif Ali Zardari ordered for Singh’s release as a goodwill gesture. The convict has already completed his stipulated punishment.