14 May 2008 :

the Pakistani Ministry of Interior strongly opposed the proposal to change the death penalty to life imprisonment, saying it was against the ideology of Pakistan.
Sources said that a meeting was held in the Interior Ministry to discuss the proposal with special reference to Sarabjit Singh, the Indian spy convicted on terrorism charges. Senior officials of the Ministry of Law, Ministry of Human Rights and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs attended the meeting, which was chaired by Interior Ministry Additional Secretary Zafeer Abbassi.
Sources privy to the meeting told Daily Times that the Interior Ministry objected to the proposal, saying, if approved, it would spark unrest and strong reaction among the people. Interior Ministry officials opined that the penalty for an act of murder in Islam is death; therefore no law could be made contrary to the religion.