The Tribune – Pakistan appoints judge to probe Sarabjit’s murder

Lahore, May 17. A serving judge has been named by a Pakistani court to probe the murder of Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh, who died earlier this month after being assaulted within the Kot Lakhpat Jail here.

Lahore High Court Chief Justice Umar Ata Bandial appointed Justice Syed Mazhar Ali Akbar Naqvi to investigate the matter and submit a report to the court.

However, no deadline has been given to Naqvi to complete the probe. Earlier, caretaker Punjab Chief Minister Najam Sethi had written a letter to the Chief Justice, asking him to appoint a judge to conduct the probe.

Five to six prisoners had brutally assaulted Sarabjit in a well-coordinated attack on April 26. After being comatose for nearly a week, Singh died at Jinnah Hospital in Lahore on May 2. Police registered a murder case against two death row prisoners Amer Aftab and Mudassar for allegedly assaulting Sarabjit.

Both men told police that they wanted to kill Sarabjit as he was involved in killing innocent Pakistanis in bomb blasts. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130518/main5.htm

Dawn – Lahore fire under control as more than 10 people die in blaze

Lahore, 10 May 2013. After hours of fire-fighting efforts, the fire at the 13-storey LDA plaza situated on Lahore’s Edgerton road has been brought under control.

Sources said that in total, more than 10 people have died in the tragedy, which started when the building caught fire on Thursday and quickly intensified as it spread over the building.

Many other people were stranded on the building who tried to escape using makeshift arrangements.

The injured people who had fallen were taken to Nishtar hospital where one of the wounded succumbed to his wounds.

Emergency and firefighting teams had reached the site and were trying to bring the fire under control.

Rescue teams were using helicopters to airlift the stranded occupants from the roof of the burning building.

http://beta.dawn.com/news/1010518/lahore-fire-under-control-as-more-than-10-people-die-in-blaze

The Hindu – Imran Khan on the mend as party seeks to cash in on sympathy wave

Anita Joshua

Islamabad, 8 May 2013. Though Imran Khan — who sustained injuries to his spine when he fell from a forklift at an election rally on Tuesday — is recovering, he had to pull out of the election campaign. Having been advised bed rest, he wouldn’t be able to cast his vote on Saturday in Mianwali, his home constituency.

Doctors attending on Mr. Khan said his morale was high and another round of tests was being carried out on Wednesday evening to assess the duration of his treatment. He has suffered three fractures on his spinal column.Soon after his admission to the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital on Tuesday night,

Mr. Khan gave an interview to a television channel in which he urged all Pakistanis to vote for his party, the Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI).

Hoping to gain sympathy votes, the PTI quickly packaged his hospital bedside interview as an advertisement and it was being aired repeatedly across television channels. With the latest pre-election poll by Herald magazine showing the PTI neck-and-neck with its arch rival, the Pakistan Muslim League (Nawaz), the Insaafians (as Mr. Khan’s supporters are called) hope the sympathy factor will give the party an edge over PML(N).

Already, the intense campaign of the PTI had pinned down the PML(N) to Punjab. Sensing the sympathy wave in favour of the cricketer-turned-politician, former Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif announced soon after the fall that his party had cancelled its campaigning scheduled for Wednesday in solidarity with the cricketing legend.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/international/south-asia/imran-khan-on-the-mend-as-party-seeks-to-cash-in-on-sympathy-wave/article4695213.ece

The Hindu – Khurshid says he is anguished by Sarabjit’s death

New Delhi, 2 May 2013. External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Thursday said he was “extremely anguished” by the death of Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore hospital following a brutal attack on him in a high-security jail.

“We are extremely anguished by the death” of the Indian prisoner, Khurshid told reporters when asked to react to the death of Singh.

Sarabjit died of cardiac arrest in a Pakistani hospital in the wee hours on Thursday after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security jail.

The Indian prisoner had sustained severe injuries when at least six prisoners attacked him in a barrack at Kot Lakhpat Jail on Friday last.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/khurshid-says-he-is-anguished-by-sarabjits-death/article4675866.ece

The Tribune – Sarabjit dies in Lahore hospital, India asks Pakistan to punish his attackers

Lahore/Islamabad. Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh died of cardiac arrest in a Lahore hospital in the wee hours on Thursday after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security Pakistani jail, officials said.

“I received a call from the doctor on duty (at Jinnah Hospital) at 1am (1:30 IST) informing me that Sarabjit is no more,” Mahmood Shaukat, the head of a medical board that was supervising 49-year-old Sarabjit’s treatment, told.

Another doctor, who was part of the team treating Sarabjit, said he died of cardiac arrest, adding that doctors made several unsuccessful attempts to resuscitate him.

Officials of the Indian high commission in Islamabad said they had been informed by officials of Jinnah Hospital about Sarabjit’s death.

Sarabjit sustained severe injuries when at least six prisoners attacked him in a barrack at Kot Lakhpat Jail on Friday, hitting him on the head with bricks.

Sarabjit was convicted of alleged involvement in a string of bomb attacks in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990 and spent about 22 years in Pakistani prisons.

His family, who had just returned to India after visiting him in Jinnah hospital, always insisted Sarabjit was innocent and he had inadvertently strayed across the border in an inebriated state.

His mercy petitions were rejected by the courts and former President Pervez Musharraf.

The previous Pakistan People’s Party-led government put off Sarabjit’s execution for an indefinite period in 2008.

Sarabjit’s heart was beating “but without brain function” because of the extensive head injuries he sustained during the assault. He was completely unresponsive and unable to breathe without ventilator support.

Shaukat said authorities were yet to decide on conducting an autopsy on Sarabjit’s body.

Asked whether the autopsy would be done after getting permission from the government, he said: “At the moment I have no idea.

No decision had been made about handing over the body to Sarabjit’s kin or to Indian authorities, Shaukat said.

“These matters will be worked out according to the directions from the government,” he said.

The official sources in Lahore had yesterday said Sarabjit had slipped into a “non-reversible” coma and this could lead to “brain death”.

His measurements on the Glasgow Coma Scale, which indicates the levels of consciousness and damage to a person’s central nervous system, had dropped to a “critical level”, the sources said.

Police have booked two death row prisoners, Amer Aftab and Mudassar for the attack on Sarabjit. They reportedly told investigators that they had attacked Sarabjit because he had allegedly carried out bomb attacks in Lahore.

No action has been taken so far against officials of the jail for failing to provide adequate security to Sarabjit.

Following the rapid deterioration in Sarabjit’s condition, New Delhi had requested that he be immediately released so that he could be treated in India or a third country.

Pakistan had said it was “positively considering” the request to repatriate Sarabjit.

India asks Pakistan to punish his attackers

New Drlhi. Asserting that Sarabjit Singh’s death was a killing of an Indian citizen while in the custody of Pakistan jail authorities, India on Thursday demanded that Pakistan conduct a through probe into the incident to ensure that those who are responsible were punished.

It also said that the shocking attack on Sarabjit highlights the needs of concerted action by Pakistan to safeguard Indians in Pakistani jails.

“We express great anguish at the demise of Sarabjit Singh who succumbed to injuries after the brutal attack on him in Kot Lakhpat Jail. This was, put simply, the killing of our citizen while in the custody of Pakistan jail authorities. We demand that the government of Pakistan conducts a through investigation to identify those who were responsible, and to ensure that they are punished,” Ministry of External Affairs said today in a release here.

The Ministry also said that it shares the pain and sorrow of Sarabjit’s family and has asked has the Pakistani authorities to release his body so that he can be given a funeral in Indian and among his own people.

Sarabjit, 49, died of cardiac arrest in a Lahore hospital in the wee hours today after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in the high-security Pakistani jail.

Sarabjit sustained severe injuries when at least six prisoners attacked him in a barrack at Kot Lakhpat Jail on Friday, hitting him on the head with bricks. (PTI)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130502/latest-news.htm

The Tribune – Suspense over Sarabjit’s condition; Jinnah Hospital doctors confirm Indian prisoner’s health has worsened

Afzal Khan in Islamabad

As Sarabjit Singh battles for life at Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital amid unconfirmed reports that he has been declared brain dead, the family of the Indian death row convict is planning to return home tomorrow.

While officially the doctors said that Sarabjit’s condition had deteriorated, sources claimed that medically his brain was dead. His other body parts, though, were functioning. Sarabjit had been hit on the head hard, a number of times, which has damaged his brain, they said.

Sources said in such cases, patients only survive till they are on the ventilator. The hospital administration, however, had not yet decided to remove the ventilator, they claimed. Allama Iqbal Medical College principal Mahmood Shaukat, the head of a four-member medical board this is supervising Sarabjit’s treatment, confirmed that his condition had deteriorated.

“In our latest investigation, there was no sign of improvement (in Sarabjit’s condition). Rather, his condition has further deteriorated,” Shaukat said.

Sarabjit was admitted to Jinnah Hospital in a critical condition after a vicious attack on him by fellow prisoners at the Kot Lakhpat Jail on April 26. He has been on ventilator support ever since.

Planned attack

Jail authorities’ inquiry report has revealed that the attack on Sarabjit was planned, said sources. They claimed that the accused had been trying to attack Singh for the past several days. Sarabjit’s lawyer, Awais Shaikh, told Dawn he had written a number of letters to prison authorities, as well as high-level government officials on the complaint of his client that certain inmates were threatening him and his life was in danger. Shaikh added that these requests were not heeded.

Sarabjit was attacked by two fellow inmates – Amir Tanba and Mudasir – when he was outside his cell for a routine walk along with other death row inmates. Two armed jail wardens – Adnan and Safdar – were also present on the spot and tried to stop the attackers but failed and were themselves injured in the brawl.

The jail security force somehow managed to control the situation and grievously injured Sarabjit was immediately taken to the jail’s hospital, from where he was transferred to Jinnah Hospital.

Quoting statements of the accused, sources said they had a grudge against Sarabjit over his role as a spy and a convicted attacker.

On the directives of the interior ministry, different investigative teams have started probes in connection with the attack. Deputy Superintendent of Police Prisons Malik Mubashir will submit a report within three days.

A second team, headed by Inspector General of Police Prisons Punjab Mian Farooq Nazir has completed its inquiry and recorded the statements of both attackers, other inmates, the injured wardens and other security officials. The second team has already submitted its initial inquiry report to the Punjab home department. (With inputs from agencies)

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2013/20130501/main6.htm

The Hindu – No plan to shift Sarabjit Singh: Pakistan

Sandeep Dikshit

New Delhi, 29 April 2013.  Hours before New Delhi formally appealed to Pakistan to transfer the Indian death row prisoner Sarabjit Singh 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.

Sarabjit is in deep coma after being assaulted in a Lahore jail by co-inmates.

Meanwhile, Dawn.com quoted an unnamed hospital source as saying 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 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. Two wardens who tried to stop them were also injured.

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. But both the federal administration and the provincial government ruled out the possibility.

In the case of the federal government, the clarification was made by Information Minister Arif Nizami.

Speaking to journalists here, he said that “the best possible care is being provided to Sarabjit’’ and that there were no plans to shift him.

However, there was no official word from the Foreign Office on India’s appeal. With parallels being drawn to the case of teenager Malala Yousafzai — who was shifted to a hospital in the U.K. after being shot in the head by the Taliban — officials pointed out that the two cases were poles apart. Sarabjit was a death row prisoner and shifting him out of the country — even to a place other than India — involved legal issues.

With the consular access issue resolved, Pakistan claimed that the full time access allowed to the two Indian officials stationed in Lahore since Friday was “unprecedented.”

Release Sarabjit: India

Sandeep Dikshit writes from Moscow:

India has sought the release of Sarabjit 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.

“The nation needs to speak with one voice. We will be happy to consider any constructive criticism while we are pulling out all our diplomatic resources.”

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.

As for the BJP, he said there were a lot of things that party should not have done, such as getting on the bus to Pakistan.

Mr. Khurshid is here to hold a review meeting of all bilateral issues with Russian Deputy Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin, including giving a push to civil nuclear cooperation, opening new areas in defence collaboration, inviting Russian investment in Indian special economic zones and easing bottlenecks that have inhibited trade with Russia, especially in fertilizers and chemicals.

Mr. Khurshid, in his meetings, also touched upon further collaboration in the hydrocarbons sector and a free trade agreement with the trio of Russia, Kazakhstan and Bylorussia.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/national/no-plan-to-shift-sarabjit-pakistan/article4666704.ece?homepage=true

The Asian Age – Sarabjit Singh in coma, say Pakistan doctors

Lahore/Almaty, 27 April 2013. The death row convict Sarabjit Singh, who was attacked by two Indian prisoners in a Lahore jail, is in “coma”, Pakistani doctors told Indian officials today. “Doctors attending to Sarabjit Singh informed the Indian officials that he is in coma on ventilator and receiving IV drip,” External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.

“The officials of India’s High Commission in Islamabad obtain access to Sarabjit in the ICU of Jinnah hospital, Lahore at 2:00 am,” he said. Earlier, India has sought consular access to the 49-year-old Sarabjit.

The attack occurred when the victim and other prisoners were brought out of their cells for an hour-long break. The two prisoners assaulted Sarabjit with blunt objects and he sustained a severe head injury.

Sarabjit was initially taken to the hospital within the prison.

After his condition worsened, he was moved in an ambulance to the state-run hospital, officials in Lahore said. Sarabjit was convicted for alleged involvement in a string of bomb attacks in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990 His mercy petitions were rejected by the courts and former President Pervez Musharraf.

The outgoing Pakistan Peoples Party-led government put off Sarabjit’s execution for an indefinite period in 2008. Sarabjit’s family says he is the victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border in an inebriated state.

http://www.asianage.com/india/sarabjit-singh-coma-says-pak-doctors-237

Dawn – Lahore attack on Christian property: Police avoided engaging charged mob, Supreme Court told

Nasir Iqbal

Islamabad, 4 April 2013. The Punjab government admitted in the Supreme Court on Wednesday that police had deliberately avoided engaging a charged and violent mob which torched the houses of Christians and desecrated their holy books at Joseph Colony in Lahore’s Badami Bagh on March 9.

“The mob was extremely charged with religious sentiments and had any Muslim died during the scuffle, it would have become a national crisis,” Additional Advocate General of Punjab Haneef Khatana said.

But the admission irked the three-judge bench, headed by Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, which had taken notice of the arson attack.

Justice Sheikh Azmat Saeed, a member of the bench, asked if the Punjab government and bureaucracy were suggesting that taking risk for the safety of minorities was not advisable as had been demonstrated in the 2009 Gojra riots in Faisalabad.

During the hearing on March 25, police had admitted in a report that policemen and their commanding officers had taken refuge in a nearby godown when the miscreants started pelting them with stones before setting ablaze the houses.

“It’s disturbing and upsetting,” Justice Saeed said, adding: “You cannot punish a community and desecrate its churches.”

Justice Gulzar Ahmed said police had vacated the locality only to encourage the mob to go on rampage. “It’s unfortunate. It seems that police are not fulfilling their duties, rather failing tremendously,” he regretted.

The chief justice observed that all were equal before the constitution and the law and that police were trained for controlling the mob. “If tomorrow a mob gathers outside the Supreme Court should we wait till it disperses and in the meanwhile shift the court at the judicial colony,” he said.

Newly appointed Inspector General of Punjab Aftab Sultan assured the court that he would try his best that no such incident occurred in future and said Capital City Police Officer Mohammad Amlesh was supervising a police inquiry.

He said police had arrested 50 culprits involved in the arson, adding that an SP, a DSP and two SHOs had been found responsible for the Joseph Colony episode. The SHOs have been removed whereas departmental inquiries initiated against the SP and the DSP.

http://dawn.com/2013/04/04/attack-on-christian-property-police-avoided-engaging-charged-mob-sc-told/

Dawn – Imran holds Punjab government responsible

Lahore, 13 March 2013. Pakistan Tehrik-i-Insaaf chief Imran Khan has held the Punjab government responsible for the Badami Bagh incident, stating, “the PML-N government’s close connections with terrorist organisations has led to attack on the houses of innocent people belonging to the Christian community.”

Mr Khan was speaking to media persons during his visit to Joseph Colony along with party leaders on Tuesday.

Stating that the PML-N leadership had finalised seat adjustments with the banned outfits in order to grab power, he observed that such moves were fanning terrorism and resulting in tragic incidents that were tarnishing Pakistan’s image at international level and putting minorities’ lives in danger.

Despite having cognisance of the entire situation, the PTI chief said the Punjab government did not act timely to stop the attackers from burning the houses which displayed its incapability and “deep connections” with banned outfits.

“Police at the site got vacated the houses of victims and then acted as mere spectators instead of barring the attackers from carrying out destruction in the area,” Imran Khan said.

The PTI chief said the present provincial government had made political appointments in Punjab police that were resulting in poor law and order situation. “The Punjab government has failed the police department just by appointing their blue-eyed people at top positions,” said Imran.

Mr Khan assailed the federal and Punjab governments for their failure to ensure safety of the lives and properties of minorities in the country. He said the burning of Christians’ houses had tarnished the image of the country at international level. “Had the culprits of Gojra incident been held accountable, the tragic incident of Badami Bagh would not have taken place,” he said. After coming into power, the PTI would ensure the minority rights and provide them with their basic rights at their doorstep.

He said the Punjab government was aware of the situation and could not control the protesters just because of its lethargic attitude. He said the Supreme Court was doing the job of a government, while the writ of the state was just missing.

He said elections should not be delayed at any cost. “Timely elections are the only solution to the entire crisis being faced by the country.

http://dawn.com/2013/03/13/imran-holds-punjab-govt-responsible/