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Freed Pakistani prisoner admits he spied for India

NEW DELHI - After his release from 35 years in a Pakistani prison on espionage charges, Kashmir Singh stood at the Indian border and hugged the Pakistani Cabinet minister responsible for freeing him.

The official thought he was embracing an Indian electronics salesman who entered Pakistan without a passport on a business trip and got swept up in the suspicions and enmity that have characterized the rival nations' relations for 60 years.

But three days after walking across the border to a hero's welcome, Singh told Indian reporters Friday: "I did the duty assigned to me as a spy. ... I was a regular recruit. I did not open my mouth for 35 years in Pakistan."

The confession turned what was meant to be a humanitarian gesture into an embarrassment for the Pakistani government that could imperil hundreds of prisoners on both sides held in similar circumstances.

Singh, a former police officer, apparently decided to speak out after finding his wife and son living in poverty, not cared for by Indian authorities.

On Saturday, Singh was trying to undo the damage of his loose talk, telling the Indian news channel CNN-IBN that his comments were misinterpreted and that he had not actually been a spy. But his credibility was in doubt.

"I am shocked to hear these statements," said Pakistan's minister for human rights, Ansar Burney, the official who worked for Singh's release.

"It will surely make it difficult for Indian prisoners in Pakistan and Pakistani prisoners in India," he told CNN-IBN.

[Last modified March 9, 2008, 00:37:02]