Lahore, Aug 27 - The lawyer of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner awaiting execution in a Pakistani jail on terrorism charges, said the case has affected India-Pakistan relations and the government should release him as a goodwill gesture, a media report said.

Owais sheikh told reporters at the press club here Wednesday that he received applications from various individuals, including the Shahi Imam of Delhi, Muslim organisations and other NGOs when he visited India on the invitation of Sarabjit Singh's sister Dalbir kaur.

He said he would meet President Asif Ali Zardari to inform him about the facts related to the case. Sarabjit in his mercy petition wrote Islam taught the lesson of forgiveness, he said.

Sheikh said if Sarabjit was the culprit then he already received his punishment by spending years in jail.

He said an appeal had been filed in the country's supreme court to review its decision about Sarabjit's death sentence. He also citied previous decisions by the court when death penalties of prisoners were commuted to life sentences, the Online news agency reported.