Islamabad: Virologist Mohammed Khalil Chisty will return to Pakistan from India after 20 years in jail on board a special aircraft being sent by President Asif Ali Zardari, a media report said Tuesday.
Zardari, during his meeting with Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi last month, had pleaded for clemency for Chisty, given his advanced age.
The Indian Supreme Court May 10 permitted Chisty, 80, who was in a jail in Ajmer, to visit Pakistan during the pendency of his appeal against his conviction in a murder case and life imprisonment.
Dawn reported that Interior Minister Rehman Malik will receive Chisty on his return. The two have spoken over the phone.
Malik told Chisty, who belongs to Karachi, that all arrangements have been made for his arrival according to Zardari’s directions.
Dawn said that Zardari had given instructions for his presidential aircraft to be made available to Chisty for his journey back home.
Chisty was sentenced to life imprisonment for the death of a person in a brawl with him when he was visiting Ajmer in April 1992. He was granted bail by the apex court April 9 which asked him to make a separate plea for permission to visit Pakistan. (IANS)