Sarabjit Singh: '' A tragic incident ''

EDITORIAL : Daily Times

An Indian citizen convicted of being a spy, Sarabjit Singh, on death row in Pakistan for the last 22 years for conducting a series of bomb blasts in 1990 in Lahore and Multan killing 14 people, has been brutally injured by fellow inmates with bricks and iron pipes at Kot Lakhpat Jail on April 27. He has received multiple injuries on his head, stomach, jaws and other parts of the body. Doctors at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital have stated Singh’s condition is critical and he has been put on a ventilator. Singh was attacked when he was strolling outside his cell along with other inmates after lunch. Singh’s family has arrived in Pakistan on a special visa issued by the Pakistan government. Led by his sister Dalbir Kaur, the family wants to be with Sarabjit in this critical time. Singh’s fate has been caught between India and Pakistan’s problematic relationship that hardly saw smooth and steady sailing all these years. His mercy petition remains pending. The incident has drawn protests throughout India, terming it a conspiracy to kill Sarabjit. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has described the attack as a “very sad incident”. The Indian Minister of State for Home Affairs R P N Singh has said that his country wants Islamabad to explain how such an incident took place. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has also condemned the attack as a “dastardly act”. High profile prisoners on death row such as Sarabjit Singh are kept isolated in special barracks in jails. Their security demands special vigilance and caution. Complete segregation is maintained to allow little chance for the prisoners to mingle. That Sarabjit Singh was not only attacked by other inmates with bricks and rods but the attackers enjoyed complete freedom to afflict serious injuries raises serious questions about the security provided to Sarabjit and the environment in which such prisoners are held. India and Pakistan both have a bad history of treatment of prisoners from across their border. There have been cases of prisoners dying in jails in both the countries, but the deaths made little impact because of the status of the prisoners, most of them being fishermen. Now the Sarabjit incident should focus minds in Pakistan (and India) on the need to improve the living and security conditions of inmates from each other’s countries. The attack on Sarabjit could have serious implications for Pakistan-India relations. Forces that oppose better bilateral relations have been disrupting the peace process through one means or another. For a consummate response to the incident, a thorough investigation into the attack should be carried out by the government, followed by punishment to the culprits. An FIR has been registered against the two offenders, and a petition has also been moved in the Supreme Court requesting an inquiry by the FIA and a medical check up of Sarabjit by a team of Pakistani and Indian doctors. Speculations are rife about the incident. The lawyer of Sarabjit Singh has revealed his client had been receiving death threats since the hanging of Afzal Guru in India in February. According to the jail authorities, a brawl between Sarabjit and other inmates erupted after the exchange of some hot words. The question however remains how could the attackers get hold of the blunt weapons they wielded? Whether complicity or an accident, the incident is a stark reminder of things that we have been ignoring since long now. One, human rights have been conspicuous by their absence in both the countries, leaving little room for prison inmates in particular to be considered worthy of attention and care. Two, security has been a consistent issue with Pakistani jails. The Bannu jailbreak is one example of a serious security lapse. Three, it is Pakistan’s responsibility to provide safety and protection to people inside its jails irrespective of their origins and finally, Pakistan and India’s relations have been deprived of continuity of dialogue that could frustrate elements bent on destroying peace between the two. Ultimately it is now Pakistan’s responsibility to gather the spilt beans and keep bilateral relations from deteriorating by getting to the bottom of the case.