Jaipur:
Ansar Burney, who has been actively campaigning to save the life of death row convict Sarabjit Singh, has met the Indian prisoner's sister and daughter. Sarabjit has been in a Pakistan jail for over 20 years.
Burney has also recently filed a fresh plea to commute Sarabjit's death sentence to life imprisonment.
"We are making efforts to get death sentence of Sarabjit commuted to life imprisonment for which I recently submitted a fresh application to the President of Pakistan," Burney said at a press conference in Jaipur on Friday.
"Once the sentence is commuted, we are hopeful that this way will pave way for his early release because he has already spent more than 21 long years in jail. A day in cell for those who face death sentence is equal to a year spent in normal prison," he said.
However, he maintained that Sarabjit's case was different from that of Dr Khalil Chisti and cautioned that comparing them might harm prospects of the Indian.
The sister and a daughter of Sarabjit, who has been lodged in the Lahore prison since 1990 for his alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that killed 14 people, were also present at the press conference.
Sarabjit's sister Dalbir Kaur also appealed for his release and said that she wished to see her brother cross the border as soon as possible.
Burney also appealed to the two countries to further strengthen bilateral relations in the larger interest of both the nations. He also said the visa system should not restrict visit to certain cities and a visa holder should be allowed to travel in any part of the country.
Welcoming the Supreme Court's decision to release Dr Khalil Chisti on bail on humanitarian grounds, the Pakistani human rights activist said he will file a fresh plea next week seeking permission to allow the 80-year-old to return to Pakistan soon.
"I am ready to give security and guarantee for Chisti so we are going to move an application in the Supreme Court for allowing him to return to Pakistan to meet his family," the Pakistani activist told reporters.
The Pakistani scientist, who was serving life sentence in an Ajmer jail in a two-decade-old murder case after his conviction in January last year, was granted bail on Monday by the Supreme Court, a day after authorities from the two countries discussed his case during Pakistan President Zardari's visit to India.