Pakistan on Thursday sought probe into the killing of its citizen Sanaullah, who succumbed to serious injuries after being attacked in an Indian jail, and asked India to bring the perpetrators of the heinous crime to justice.
“We have learnt with a deep sense of grief that Pakistani Prisoner Sanaullah has expired today (Thursday) in a hospital in Chandigarh, India. He succumbed to the brutal injuries inflicted upon him during an attack in a jail in the Indian Occupied Kashmir,” said Foreign Office Spokesman Aizaz Ahmed Chaudhry.
“The government of Pakistan offers its deep condolences to the family of Sanaullah,” he said.
Aizaz said, “The government of Pakistan is making necessary arrangements to repatriate his mortal remains to Pakistan. We hope that the government of India will extend expeditious facilitation to that end.”
He said, “The brutal manner in which Sanaullah was attacked in the jail is most unfortunate and a matter of deep concern for the government of Pakistan. We have conveyed our concern to the government of India in this regard and demanded that an investigation into the incident be held and perpetrators of this heinous crime be brought to justice.”
“The prime minister of Pakistan has also called upon the government of India to ensure the safety and security of all Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails,” he said.
He said, “We also reiterate our call to the government of India to hold focused discussions on the conditions of Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails and repatriate those who have already completed their sentences as per the Consular Access Agreement between Pakistan and India.”
Sanaullah was in Indian prison for the past 17 years on militancy-related charges. He was attacked by a former Indian army soldier, who is convicted of murder. The former Indian soldier has been arrested and remanded to judicial custody.
The attack on Sanaullah took place a few days ago after an assault on an Indian prisoner, Sarabjit Singh, in a Pakistani jail.
Singh was sentenced to death in 1991 in Pakistan for spying and involvement in terrorist acts in which several Pakistani citizens were killed.
Diplomatic sources in Islamabad say that the killings of Pakistani and Indian prisoners in the jails of two countries had further strained the already tense relations between the South Asian nuclear neighbours.
“At present, the Indo-Pak peace process is stalled and world powers like US and UK have been trying hard through diplomatic channels to persuade the two sides to resume the peace dialogue but these incidents of prisoners’ killing would harm those efforts,” a source said, seeking anonymity.
He said there were some chances because of the efforts of US and UK that Islamabad and New Delhi would resume peace dialogue once a new Pakistani government was formed after May 11 elections, but owing to fresh tensions over the prisoners’ issue it would be daunting task now for the two sides to recommence their talks in near future.
The deaths of Sarabjit and Sanaullah have also raised concerns about the safety of Pakistani and Indian prisoners in each other jails. At present, there are 535 Indian prisoners in Pakistan jails and 273 Pakistani prisoners are in Indian jails.
The India-Pakistan Judicial Committee on Prisoners has also called on the Indian and Pakistani governments to ensure the safety of each other’s prisoners languishing in jails.
Members of the “Pakistan-India Judicial Committee on Prisoners” visited Pakistani Jails in Karachi, Rawalpindi and Lahore from April 26 to May 1, this year.
The members of the Committee included Justice (r) Abdul Qadir Chaudhry, Justice (r) Nasir Aslam Zahid and Justice (r) Mian Muhammad Ajmal from the Pakistan side whereas Justice (r) AS Gill and Justice (r) MA Khan were from the Indian side.
