Pakistan hails Indian bail to doctor

Islamabad, April 9 (IANS) Pakistan Monday welcomed the Indian Supreme Court decision to grant bail to Pakistani doctor Mohammad Khalil Chisty, who is undergoing life imprisonment in a jail in Ajmer.

Foreign Office spokesman Abdul Basit said this was a positive step and Pakistan saw it as a goodwill gesture, Online news agency reported.

Chisty's case was discussed over Sunday's lunch in New Delhi between Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and Pakistan President Asif Ali Zardari.

A Supreme Court bench Monday granted bail to the 80-year-old Chisty. His age and the long duration of incarceration weighed in his favour.

Chisty, a virologist at the Karachi Medical College, is accused of killing a man during a brawl in April 1992 in Ajmer.

He was in the city to offer prayers at the shrine of Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisty when the incident took place.