New Delhi:The Pakistan High Commission has put in a request with the Ministry of External Affairs asking for consular access to a Pakistani prisoner who is in a coma after being attacked by an Indian prisoner in a Jammu jail. They have also reportedly demanded a probe into the incident.
The Pakistani prisoner was attacked by a former Indian Army soldier. The prisoner identified as Sanaullah Haq was taken to the Government Medical College Hospital in Jammu, had suffered serious head injuries and was in a coma, doctors said.
Manzoor Memon, Spokesman for the Pakistan High Commission said that Pakistan speaking to Media said, “We are very concerned and have shown our deep concern about the security of our prisoners. We want to know why this incident happened despite a MHA order asking for security to be stepped up for Pakistani prisonersâ€.
Memon added that they are not satisfied with the security measures being provided to Pakistani prisoners.
Haq was attacked in the head with a pick-axe and has suffered critical injuries to his brain.
Firstpost editor Praveen Swamy quoted highly placed government sources as saying that the attack had occurred when prisoners had been out of their cells on fatigue duty. He said that a murder convict from Uttarakhand had reportedly attacked the Pakistani prisoner with a pick-axe after a heated exchange of words in which Sarabjit’s name had been mentioned.
The attack on the prisoner came hours after Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh succumbed to injuries after being brutally attacked in a Lahore jail. Meanwhile CNN-IBN reported that orders had been issued to keep Pakistani prisoners separate from Indian prisoners in UP jails.
Sources told Firstpost that Haq has suffered serious injury to the right temporal lobe area and is undergoing a CT scan. The prisoner will be moved to PFI Chandigarh if feasible. The sources added that he is is a critical state and is unlikely to survive. The Jammu and Kashmir Home Minister has said meanwhile that the jail superintendent has been suspended, and security for other Pakistani prisoners has been beefed up. Investigations into the incident are continuing – presumably focusing on why Pakistani and Indian prisoners were allowed to mingle while wielding pick-axes.
Former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir Farooq Abdullah has said that the Pakistani prisoner who was attacked in a Jammu jail will be saved. “This man will not die. Sarabjit died in Pakistanâ€, said a defensive Abdullah to journalists in the state.
Abdullah said that the unprovoked and brutal attack on Sarabjit in a Lahore jail had naturally caused a lot of anger, adding that the state would do whatever possible to guarantee the safety of other Pakistani prisoners. He added that. (Agencies)
