Pakistan grants mercy to death row Briton

President Pervez Musharraf has commuted the death sentence of a British man who has spent 18 years in a Pakistani jail for a murder he says he didn't commit, and officials were hopeful he would be released soon.

The British government and rights groups had pleaded with Pakistan to grant clemency for Mirza Tahir Hussain, 36, from Leeds in northern England.

"The president has commuted the death sentence to life," Interior Minister Aftab Ahmed Khan Sherpao said, adding that his ministry was working out the modalities of his release. Hussain's family welcomed the news, saying their "18 years of nightmare appears to be coming to an end. It has been an emotional rollercoaster for the family. We have been looking forward to this day," his brother Amjad Hussain told reporters in England. "We are overjoyed."

Musharraf took the decision on Wednesday, officials said. A life term is usually 25 years but, with time off for good behaviour and Muslim and national holidays, Hussain is believed to have served his time.

"Hopefully he will be granted total relief. He will be informed about it today," Junior Information Minister Tariq Azim Khan told Reuters.