Murder behind bars

The deaths of the two prisoners, one Indian and one Pakistani, remind us of the need to ensure security in jails.

As we had all feared, Sanaullah Ranjay, the Pakistani prisoner brutally beaten in a Jammu prison during an attack by fellow inmates a week ago, has died at a Chandigarh hospital where he was being treated. Ranjay, who suffered severe head injuries, had been in a critical condition for days. The brutal assault on the 52-year-old had come immediately after Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh died after being beaten up by other prisoners at Kot Lakhpat Jail. This was then a case of tit-for-tat violence. Its nature, and the mindset behind it, are unfortunate. Families in both countries have received the bodies of loved ones as a result of these actions and the apparent failure by prison authorities in either country to protect those in their custody.

The incidents also add a new element of tension to relations between India and Pakistan. The issue of prisoners held across the border is one the two nations have been unable to sort out, despite many rounds of talks spread over years. The death of Ranjay has triggered protests from Pakistani consular officials in New Delhi as well as the Foreign Ministry. This does not help in the broader task of taking relations forward and creating a friendlier regional environment. Given the desperate need for this, it is important that incidents such as the attacks on persons behind bars be avoided at all costs and mechanisms put in place to ensure this.

It is important that other prisoners be protected. According to New Delhi, there are currently 535 Indian prisoners held in Pakistani jails. As many as 483 of them are fishermen. It is unfortunate the issue of fisherfolk who accidentally stray into each other’s territorial waters remains unresolved. Similarly, hundreds of Pakistanis are believed to be detained in Indian jails, again many of them fishermen. The deaths of these two men, one Indian and one Pakistani, remind us of the need to do more to ensure the safety of all those held behind bars in each other’s countries and for New Delhi and Islamabad to step up efforts for this.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 10^th, 2013.