Pakistan cancels prison sentence of Indian man

Pakistan's president has canceled the remaining sentence of an Indian man imprisoned in Pakistan for the last 27 years.

President Asif Ali Zardari's decision Sunday came after India invited him and the Pakistani prime minister to watch a World Cup semifinal between their respective cricket teams being played in India.

Prime Minister Yousuf Gilani accepted the invitation Sunday.

Later, the government said Zardari had remitted Gopal Das' prison sentence on humanitarian grounds in response to an unusual appeal by the Indian Supreme Court.

Presidential spokesman Farhatullah Babar said Das was sentenced to life imprisonment in June 1987 and was originally slated to be released by the end of this year. He declined to specify the crime, but Indian media reports said he was convicted of spying.