Pakistani family pardons Indians for murder in UAE

Abu Dhabi: The family of a Pakistani man, allegedly murdered by 10 Indians in Abu Dhabi in 2015, has pardoned the convicts facing death sentence.

The father of the victim, Mohammad Farhan, appeared in the Al Ain Appeals Court and submitted a letter of consent to pardon the Indians, an Indian Embassy official told the Gulf News.

On behalf of the accused, an Indian charity deposited the blood money in the court and the case has been adjourned for further hearing on April 12, said Dinesh Kumar, an official at the embassy in Abu Dhabi.

"It is expected that the court may commute the death sentence," he said.

The Indian men, from Punjab, were convicted in October 2016 for killing Farhan during a brawl in 2015, said the report. 

The blood money as compensation to the victim's family was arranged by Dubai-based Indian businessman S.P.S. Oberoi, chairman of Sarbat Da Bhala Charitable Trust. 

Oberoi said his Pakistani manager travelled to Peshawar and spoke to the family and their relatives to secure the pardon. 

He said the victim's father said he did not want 10 other Indian families to face the same tragic fate. 

All the convicted young Indian men were from poor families and worked in the UAE's Al Ain city as plumbers, electricians, carpenters and masons, said the report. 

Most were in their 20s and had paid huge sums to recruitment agents in India to secure a visa to reach the United Arab Emirates.