How the high-profile Indian prisoner was not given adequate security must be identified
Sarabjit Singh was perhaps the most high profile Indian prisoner being held in Pakistan’s jails. The fact that the death row prisoner was attacked while in Kot Lakpat Jail and is now fighting for his life is beyond ridiculous. Jail authorities are aware that Indian prisoners remain at the centre of diplomacy between the two countries and Sarabjit was a special prisoner at that, with an almost 23 year long international campaign around securing his freedom. With today having been declared crucial for his survival, Pakistan risks another diplomatic tussle with India if Sarabjit Singh dies.
With protests having erupted in Jammu in Indian-administered Kashmir, it appears that prison authorities were unaware of the diplomatic consequences of not upping security for Sarabjit after a tussle occurred in the jail involving him in the last week. The former Indian foreign minister SM Krishna has asked the Indian government to lodge a strong protest with Pakistan and that such brutality has “no place in a civilized world.” The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also chipped in his two bits and called it a “very sad” incident. For those who do not remember, earlier on June 26, 2912, news of Sarabjit’s release was flashed by news outlets before it emerged his name had been mistaken. His sister, Dilip Kaur, had also visited Pakistan to attempt lobby Pakistani authorities to release him. She and three other members of Sarabjit’s family have been issued immediate visit visas to attempt to dissipate the consequences.
However, it is beyond one’s imagination, why Kot Lakpat jail authorities and the Home Department had not responded to the “threats” Singh’s lawyers reported after Kashmiri separatist, Afzal Guru, was hanged in New Dehli. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also condemned the “dastardly act” and called on the government to start an inquiry into the matter and punish the guilty. Singh had been sentenced to death in 1990, a sentence upheld by the Supreme Court (SC), over spying and being involved in an attack in Punjab in which 14 people were killed. The controversial sentence was also upheld after former president Pervez Musharraf also refused Sarabjit’s mercy petition. Singh’s family has continued to maintain that he was a farmer who accidentally crossed the border while drunk, as so many others do. Matters pertaining to a possible release were complicated by the last high profile Indian prisoner to be released, who claimed he was a spy as soon as he crossed the border, but then what is the value of a spy after 20 years in prison? Sarabjit was for India like Afzal Guru for Pakistan – perhaps even more. An attempted murder case against two prisoners and the suspension of two jail officials are an inadequate response to the brutal attack on him. Accountability should be higher to save the diplomatic impasse between the two countries.
