Tit-For-Tat Assault: Pakistani inmate unlikely to survive: officials

Sanaullah Haq's condition slipped on Saturday, causing media outlets to misreport his death.

MIRPUR/ NEW DELHI/ ISLAMABAD:

Officials at the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi are less than optimistic about the recovery of a Pakistani prisoner who was assaulted by fellow inmates in an Indian Kashmir jail just a day after convicted Indian spy Sarabjit Singh died in a Lahore hospital.

They also ruled out medical evacuation for Sanaullah Haq, whose condition slipped on Saturday, and caused media outlets to misreport his death. Pakistan’s foreign ministry, however, confirmed that the prisoner was still alive but was on a ventilator and in critical condition.

In a clear tit-for-tat for the attack on Sarabjit Singh, Sanaullah was hit with a very sharp weapon in a Jammu jail on Friday and was airlifted to Chandigarh for medical aid.

Attacked by an ex-Indian army convict Vinod Kumar, Sanaullah medical’s condition showed he was subjected to “multiple assaults of unspeakable savagery”, said the Pakistan High Commission officials.

Sanaullah, accused of detonating bombs at electricity pylons and government buildings in the disputed Kashmir state in 1990, was sentenced to eight years in jail by a Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act (TADA) and Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA) court in 2008.

“Our consulate officials have just paid a visit to Sanaullah and have spoken to the doctors treating him as he is still alive, but he is in the ICU and is critical,” Foreign Office spokesperson Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry told The Express Tribune. He added that the Pakistani mission is in contact with Indian authorities for his treatment in Pakistan, while efforts are also being made to send his family to India.

Condemning the attack, which he termed an obvious retaliation to the death of Sarabjit, Chaudhry called on the Indian government to take all measures to ensure that Sanaullah receives the best medical treatment available and investigate the matter thoroughly and punish the perpetrators.

“We also remind the Indian government of its responsibility in ensuring the safety and security of all Pakistani prisoners lodged in Indian jails,” he added.

Two top prison officials have been suspended after the attack. India has nearly 270 Pakistani prisoners.

Security intensifies for Indian prisoner in AJK jail

Following the attacks on Sarabjit and Sanaullah, security has been intensified to protect an Indian prisoner on death row in Central Jail of Mirpur, Azad Kashmir.

Shabir, said to be a resident of Poonch city in Indian Kashmir, is the only Indian prisoner on death row in Azad Kashmir. He was awarded capital punishment for detonating a bomb at a road-side restaurant in Islamgarh Town of Mirpur district over a decade ago, in which more than 10 people were killed.

Shabir was caught by local law-enforcement agencies while trying to flee to Indian Kashmir through crossing the LoC.

Superintendent Central Jail, Mirpur, Mirza Irshaad Ahmed Jiraal told The Express Tribune that Shabir had been shifted to a separate barrack for solitary imprisonment. He was previously in a prison with at least four other prisoners on death row.

 

Published in The Express Tribune, May 5^th, 2013.