PM Khoso asks Manmohan for a thorough probe into Sanaullah's incident
04 May, 2013
ISLAMABAD: Caretaker Prime Minister of Pakistan Justice (retd) Mir Hazar Khan Khoso called upon his Indian counterpart to personally look into an incident of attack on Sanaullah, a Pakistani national jailed in Indian Occupied Kashmir, and ensure that a thorough investigation is conducted to bring perpetrators to justice.
Sanaullah, a Pakistani national undergoing sentence in Jammu Jail was subjected to brutal assault. The Prime Minister in his statement on Friday said that he had learnt with deep concern that their national was brutally attacked in Jammu Jail. He further noted that a large number of Pakistani nationals were incarcerated in Indian prisons, among them many had completed their sentences but were awaiting repatriation which had been put on hold.
"It is our expectation that the Indian government would ensure the safety of all Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails and also facilitate expeditious release of all those Pakistani prisoners who have completed their jail terms," the Premier noted with optimism.
PM Khoso called upon the Indian government that this humanitarian issue which affected the lives of scores of their nationals should be addressed in the spirit that it deserved. He said both Pakistan and India should continue to make sincere efforts to avoid occurrence of such incidents and focus on issues of safety and security of prisoners in the existing forums under the Composite Dialogue process.
Prime Minister addressing Sanaullah's family assured that Government of Pakistan was seeking the best medical treatment for him. "We have asked the Indian authorities to accord consular access to our High Commission in New Delhi to visit Sanaullah. We have also called for his evacuation to Pakistan on medical and humanitarian grounds," he added.
According to the details, Sanaullah was attacked in an apparent tit-for-tat jail violence that has strained relations between the neighbours.
The attack came after Sarabjit Singh, an Indian convicted in Pakistan for spying and deadly bombings, died on Thursday following a beating in Lahore's Kot Lakhpat Jail, sparking a furious response from Indian politicians. Singh was cremated with state honours on Friday.
The injured Pakistani prisoner was assaulted early on Friday in Jammu, a day after India's home ministry ordered stepped up security for jailed Pakistanis. Sanaullah was in a critical condition and was to be airlifted to a hospital in the city of Chandigarh for treatment, K Rajendra, the state's director general of prisons, told AFP.
"It was a scuffle between the Pakistani prisoner and Vinod Kumar, who is an ex-Indian army soldier. Both of them were serving life imprisonment," Rajendra said. Sanaullah was photographed with a swollen black eye and a bloodied beard as he was rushed into hospital in Jammu where he underwent surgery. "This obvious retaliation to the death of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh is condemnable," said a statement from the Pakistan's Foreign Ministry, which asked for a police probe.
"We would also remind the government of India of its responsibility in ensuring the safety and security of all Pakistani prisoners lodged in Indian jails," it added. Rajesh Kumar, the police chief for Jammu, told AFP that police had registered a case and had begun investigating. The Indian Foreign Ministry promised consular access to Pakistan and proposed a meeting of authorities from both countries to suggest measures to avoid "such tragic incidents in future".
The violence is likely to cause further friction between nuclear-armed India and Pakistan, whose ties were hit by a border flare-up earlier this year that undermined efforts to build trust. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh condemned the "barbaric and murderous attack" on Sarabjit Singh on Thursday and New Delhi complained that its diplomats were denied access to the prisoner as he fought for his life. The main opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and Sarabjit Singh's family attacked the government for being too soft on Pakistan, while the parliament's lower house passed a resolution condemning the death.
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