Chandigarh:
The Punjab government on Thursday appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to make an appeal to the highest Constitutional Authority in UAE to pardon 17 Indians who have been sentenced to death on the charges of killing a Pakistani.
It also asked the Prime Minister to immediately send a high-level delegation comprising the External Affairs Minister and MPs/Ministers from Punjab, to the UAE to save their lives.
In a message to the Prime Minister, Deputy Chief Minister
Sukhbir Singh Badal pointed out that these 17 Indians, including 16 Punjabis, have to face this situation due to "absence of any legal support" from the Indian embassy in that country.
He said it was a matter of "great regret" that External Affairs Ministry has "woken up too late" when the Court has already pronounced its judgment.
Badal said the Prime Minister himself should appeal to the highest Constitutional Authority in UAE to pardon 17 Indians as they have been "framed" in this murder case on "unsubstantiated and concocted evidences due to professional rivalry".
The high level delegation led by External Affairs Minister would also impress upon the UAE government to reconsider the case on humanitarian grounds, he said.