ZANZIBAR President Salmin Amour on Wednesday pardoned the Arab sultan who ruled the semi-autonomous Indian Ocean islands of Zanzibar and Pemba before being overthrown in a bloody revolution in 1964. “In the spirit of civility and reconciliation, I am pleased to announce that I have pardoned King (Sultan) Jamshid bin Abdallah bin Khalfan, who ran away from the country after the revolution,” Amour said in a speech marking the 36th anniversary of Zanzibar’s revolution. “He is free to return home — not as the king, but an ordinary citizen — and the government is ready to help him settle down,” Amour said. Jamshid, now 69, ruled Zanzibar for about six months before he was deposed on January 12, 1964. He inherited the throne from his father Ahmed bin Abdallah bin Said, who had died after reigning for three years.