India accuses Pakistan of 'killing' prisoner, tension rises

An Indian held prisoner in Pakistan for espionage has died at hospital triggering a new wave of tension and strains in relations between the two neighboring Asian nations. Spokesman for the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA), Syed Akbaruddin, said in a statement on Thursday that Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner convicted of spying for New Delhi, has died at a Pakistani hospital, charging his death amounts to "the killing of our citizen while in the custody of Pakistan." Singh had remained comatose in a Pakistani hospital for nearly a week following an attack on April 26 by four jail inmates in Pakistan's Lahore. Doctors had been treating him for severe head injuries after the attack at Lahore's Kot Lakhpat jail. He was on ventilator support since then. The official spokesman charged that Singh was killed "while in the custody of Pakistan jail authorities," adding the MEA has asked Pakistan to return Singh's body to India. Speaking to local media, Akbaruddin said the government shared the pain and sorrow of Singh's family, and urged Pakistan to bring his body back to India so that the last rites could be conducted. Singh, 49, had been on death row in Pakistan since 1990 after being convicted by Pakistani courts for bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan, which left 14 people dead. His mercy plea was, however, rejected by successive governments. Indian Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde also spoke with media after meeting Singh's family, saying "all efforts were underway to ensure that his body was returned to India." "We are speaking to Pakistan authorities to send Sarabjit's body as soon as possible. The family can conduct last rites where they please," he said. Sources say Pakistan has agreed to send his body back to India after post mortem examination. India has, meanwhile, asked Pakistan for "a full investigation" to be conducted into his death. Also over the issue, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said, "The criminals responsible for the barbaric and murderous attack on Sarabjit Singh must be brought to justice." Meanwhile, protests have erupted in Hindu-dominated Jammu, a southern district of disputed Kashmir, where protesters raised anti-Pakistan slogans. Security has been beefed up in New Delhi and other states where authorities fear protests in response to the death of the prisoner. Singh was the native of India's North Western state of Punjab where the government has announced a state-level funeral. State Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal, in a statement, said Singh would be given a state-level funeral after his body is brought here. He also expressed anguish over his death. India's Hindu nationalist and powerful opposition BJP leader, Sushma Swaraj, called Singh's death a "cold blood murder." Both India and Pakistan hold each other's prisoners in their jails where attacks by jail inmates are common. Indian NGO People's Union for Civil Liberties (PUCL) has appealed to New Delhi's government to issue an advisory to all states to ensure protection of Pakistani prisoners in their areas in the wake "of the brutal attack on Singh in Pakistan." "The PUCL fears repercussion of this in India and would appeal to the Government of India to issue an advisory to all state governments to ensure protection of Pakistani prisoners in their states so that such incidents are not repeated," a PUCL statement said.