Burney said he would go to India on April 2 at the invitation of Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal.

“I plan to meet Sarabjit’s family and his sister Dalbir Kaur to gather evidence they claim to have regarding his evidence. This will make it easier for me to work for his case,” Burney told PTI on Thursday.

“At the same time, I will also try and meet the Pakistani prisoners who are in Indian jails. Obviously I will also try and do whatever is possible for their release,” he said.

President Pervez Musharraf had on March 19 deferred the hanging of Sarabjit, scheduled for April 1, by 30 days after receiving an appeal for clemency from the Indian government and the condemned man’s family.

Sarabjit was sentenced to death in 1991 for his alleged involvement in four bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that killed 14 people. His family denies he is a spy as claimed by Pakistan and insists he accidentally strayed into Pakistani territory.

Earlier this week, Burney asked Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gillani to convert Sarabjit’s death sentence into life imprisonment on humanitarian grounds.

The Ansar Burney Trust has compiled a list of 46 Pakistanis, including women, who are reportedly languishing in Indian jails even after completing their sentences. Most of these Pakistanis are in jails in the Indian state of Punjab, the Trust said.

Burney said he was touched by the love and affection he had received from Indian NGOs, officials and parliamentarians for his efforts to secure the release of Kashmir Singh, who was pardoned and freed by Musharraf after spending 35 years on death row in Pakistani jails.

“My visit is part of my efforts to some good work between the two neighbours. I want to take something good to India and bring something good back to Pakistan,” he said.

Burney, who will cross over to India via the Wagah border, will be accompanied by his wife and son Fahad Burney, the vice chairman of his Trust. They also plan to visit Agra and Ajmer.

The former minister said he would also try to meet Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and the Home and External Affairs ministers to discuss the issue of prisoners in both countries.