Sarabjit’s release sought on humanitarian grounds

http://www.thehindu.com/

India has sought the release of the alleged spy Sarabjit Singh, now in deep coma after being assaulted in a Lahore jail by co-inmates, on humanitarian grounds. It has also asked Pakistan to consider the option of transferring him to India for further treatment if it was medically feasible. Terming the current state of affairs a mismatch between Indian expectations and Pakistani delivery, Minister of External Affairs Salman Khurshid said the issue was too tragic and important for “us as a nation” and human beings for frivolous criticism, especially by the media and the Bharatiya Janata Party. Asked whether he would travel to Pakistan just as the Italian Minister did in the case of the nation’s marines, Mr. Khurshid, while ruling out this option considering the current relations between India and Pakistan, said the government did not need recommendations from the media. “We continue to do our best. Right now it is important that he gets the best possible medical attention. If his medical condition permits, we could fly him out and give him the best possible treatment. Mr. Khurshid is here to hold a review meeting of all bilateral issues with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin. No plans to shift Anita Joshua writes from Islamabad: Hours before New Delhi formally appealed to Pakistan to transfer Sarabjit to India for treatment, Islamabad said there were no plans to shift him and that he was getting the “best possible care’’ in Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital. Dawn.com quoted an unnamed hospital source as stating that Sarabjit was “brain dead.” Members of his family — who reached Lahore on Sunday — have been allowed to meet him whenever they want. For the first time, some television channels showed grainy footage of what they claimed was Sarabjit on life-support in the hospital. Also, according to Dawn.com report, the brutal attack on Sarabjit inside Kot Lakhpat Jail was planned. He was attacked with bricks and iron rods that the inmates pulled out from under-construction sewerage lines. The clarification on the possibility of shifting Sarabjit came in the wake of television reports suggesting that he could be moved to a hospital overseas. Both the federal administration and the provincial government ruled out the possibility.