Pakistani officials say President Pervez Musharraf has commuted the death sentence of a British national convicted of murder.
Officials confirmed Thursday that Mirza Tahir Hussain will instead be given a life sentence. The British national of Pakistani descent has spent the past 18 years in prison for murdering a taxi driver in 1988.
Hussain says the driver tried to sexually assault him at gunpoint and that he acted in self defense.
His case has drawn outcry from human rights groups and Hussain's family, who said the trial was unfair.
Britain's prime minister, Tony Blair, and Prince Charles had also expressed concern about Hussain's case to the Pakistani government.
Some information for this report was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters
