In deep anguish: Sarabjit’s family in Lahore

Medics deem his condition critical; sister levels abetment charge on jailers.

LAHORE:

The prisoner’s daughters gathered around his bed, crying, gazing at his swollen face, urging him to speak, as he lay in coma at  Jinnah Hospital, Lahore. Poonam Kaur, 23, and Sawapandeep, her elder sister, are Sarabjit Singh’s only children. 

The girls, along with their mother and aunt, arrived in Lahore on Sunday and rushed to the hospital. Singh has been kept there since two fellow inmates attacked and injured him at Kot Lakhpat jail on Friday. Medics deem his condition critical.

Singh’s family was received at Wagah border by his Pakistan lawyer, Owais Shaikh. They were transported to the hospital under heavy security. Security personnel deputed at the hospital prevented Mr Sharma, an official of Indian High Commission, and Advocate Sheikh, from meeting Sarabjit Singh, saying “they did not have the permission to do so.”

“Officials from the Indian High Commission in Pakistan were not allowed to visit Sarabjit Singh on Sunday. The authorities have also refused to share his medical updates with the Indian officials,” said a senior Indian official, speaking on condition of anonymity.

“It is crucial for us to know about Singh’s health and Pakistan cannot deny information to India,” said another government official in New Delhi.



While talking to The Express Tribune, Sheikh said that it was condemnable for the security personnel to prevent the Indian High Commission official from meeting a citizen of their country.

However, a Pakistan foreign ministry statement said that the Government of Pakistan has provided 2nd Consular access to Indian diplomats presently stationed in Lahore. They have been asked to coordinate with Deputy Chief of Protocol of the Ministry of Foreign Office, Camp Office Lahore and with the hospital administration for assistance.

Following their meeting with Singh, his family members were whisked off through a hospital backdoor, sheltered from media personnel and taken to Avari Hotel, Lahore – all under heavy security.

Singh, 49, was convicted over a string of bomb attacks in Punjab province in Pakistan which had left 14 people dead in 1990. His mercy petitions were rejected by the courts and former president Pervez Musharraf. His family says he is a victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border.

Dilbeer Kaur, Singh’s sister, has said that attack on her brother was pre-planned and was aimed at killing him. She was contacted through a phone call at the hotel.

“The jail authorities never allowed him his routine two-hour walk. However, on that fateful day, they did. Clearly, they were planning to kill him.”

The authorities had assigned the task of killing him to other prisoners, said Kaur. “Another prisoner, Kirpal Singh, was with Sarabjit. He was under attack too – but the jail authorities saved him, leaving my brother at the mercy of the attackers.”

She said the assault on her brother was due to anti-India elements.

She said although the hospital authorities and security officials have allowed two family members to stay with Sarabjit, they have not decided on staying with him because of security concerns. She said they would visit the hospital on a daily basis.

Meanwhile, officials at the Indian High Commission said that they have arranged for stay of Singh’s family at Avari Hotel for 15 days. A visa had been processed for them on an urgent basis on humanitarian grounds after Singh was taken to the hospital.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 29^th, 2013.