Bail to Chisty comes at a significant time, says nephew

New Delhi, April 9 (IANS) The bail for Pakistani doctor Mohammad Khalil Chisty has come at a very significant time for his family, his nephew said Monday, a day after Pakistani President Asif Ali Zardari's India visit.

The apex court granted bail to Chisty, 80, who is undergoing life imprisonment in a jail in Ajmer for involvement in a clash that resulted in the death of a person.

'The timing is very significant for his family.... Insha allah, we are hoping that he could be sent back to Karachi to be with his wife and grandchildren,' his nephew Salman Chisty told Times Now news channel.

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 famous dargah (shrine) of Sufi saint Hazrat Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti when the incident happened.

'His (Chisty's) mental state is that he has gone through a lot. It's really important that he comes back to the society...,' Salman said.

'As soon as we have the court orders, we will go and see him. The time period that he has already gone through is equal to his conviction. He has served and suffered more than any conviction that could hold him up,' he added.

An apex court bench headed by Justice P. Sathasivam granted bail to the virologist, subject to conditions to be imposed by the trial court.

The bail was granted a day after Zardari arrived in India on a daylong visit that saw him meeting Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi and paying obeisance at Khwaja Moinuddin Chisti's shrine in Ajmer.