But India shouldn’t behave like Pakistan
It was supposed to be the mortal remains of Sarabjit Singh that Pakistan handed over to India last Thursday. But in reality it was a bag of bones draped in human skin that was received. As the doctors here who conducted a second post-mortem on Friday observed, the body of Sarabjit Singh that Pakistan had repatriated to India had no heart, stomach, gall bladder or kidney. Now, there is a slim chance that the organs may have been taken out for further examination or that they may have been removed during embalming before the body was airlifted to reduce the chances of infection. However, if this was indeed the case, then why not come clean about itIJ Add to this the fact that the Pakistani authorities did not care to send over either the report of the first post-mortem that they conducted or the details of the treatment that Sarabjit Singh was given while in hospital, and increasingly it looks like they held back crucial evidence that could have helped understand the nature and gravity of the attack that the 49-year-old had suffered. And, there can be only one reason for this: Pakistan blatantly lied about how Sarabjit Singh had been butchered to death. Ever since the April 26 attack at Kot lakhpat prison, the Pakistanis maintained that the 49-year-old convict had got into a ‘scuffle’ — of the kind that is common in most prisons — with his fellow inmates. This was hard to believe even without any forensic evidence; but now of course the medical examiners in India have confirmed that, given the severity of the injuries that Sarabjit Singh sustained, he clearly suffered extreme blunt force trauma which is uncharacteristic of a typical prison fight. They have also said that he was quite possibly attacked by more than one person — pointing yet again to a pre-meditated assault. It does not require a stretch of imagination to see how a more thorough post-mortem would have proven beyond doubt that the attack on Sarabjit Singh was indeed a cold-blooded killing. The removal of the organs could have been part of an elaborate cover-up.
But while there is no denying that Sarabjit Singh's death was a murder most foul, that is no reason for India to retaliate in a similarly callous and insensitive manner. Two wrongs do not make a right, and so there is no justification for the supposedly retaliatory attack on Sanaullah Haq, a Pakistani prisoner lodged in Kot Balwal jail in Jammu. It is true that Haq had been given the best medical care without any undue delay and Pakistan given consular access on a daily basis. Now, the Government must quickly get to the bottom of the incident and punish the guilty. While it has already acted against the jail superintendent concerned, those responsible for the attack have to be punished. India has already done well to heighten security of all its Pakistani prisoners, and hopefully every step will be taken to prevent such incidents. Retaliatory attacks merely fuel an unending cycle of the meaningless violence and bloodshed — if Haq was attacked to avenge Sarabjit Singh's death, Sarabjit Singh was reduced to pulp to avenge Afzal Guru's hanging. Both India and Pakistan can do without this. Also, this is an opportunity for both countries to end the vicious cycle and set an example in how a civilised society treats even its worst enemies.