Sarabjit in coma, fights for life as family leaves for Pak

JAIL ATTACK Govt demands explanation, offers help; Modi faults UPA foreign policy

ISLAMABAD/AMRITSAR/NEW DELHI: Indian death row convict Sarabjit Singh, assaulted by inmates at Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat jail, remained critical and comatose on Saturday as his family in India prepared to leave for Pakistan after their visas were confirmed.

Doctors at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital said the 49-year- old’s condition had improved slightly but he remained critical and the next few days were crucial. They said they were unable to operate at this stage and were waiting for him to stablise. Singh — on death row for 22 years — is on life support with serious head injuries.

His sister Dalbir Kaur, wife Sukhpreet Kaur and daughters Swapandeep and Poonam will leave their Amritsar home for Pakistan on Sunday. The Pakistan high commission has granted them visas for 15 days “to Lahore and Nankana Sahib on priority basis”, the mission’s spokesperson in New Delhi said.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh termed the attack “very sad” and minister of state for home affairs RPN Singh said the Centre had lodged a protest with Pakistan’s foreign office. “We want an explanation… It is Pakistan’s responsibility to ensure Indians in their jails are safe,” he said.

“My father had written to us saying he was being mentally tortured and given poison. Ever since Afzal Guru’s hanging, he claimed he was in greater danger and an inmate had threatened to stab him,” Swapandeep said. The family demanded a change of hospitals too, saying “we have come to know Jinnah Hospital is not fully equipped to handle such cases”.

External affairs minister Salman Khurshid said India would offer Pakistan any assistance it may need in treating Singh while continuing to push hard to bring him home.

CONTINUED ON P8 RELATED REPORT, P8