Doctors treating Indian death row convict Sarabjit Singh, comatose in a hospital in Pakistan after a brutal assault, on Tuesday said his condition has deteriorated though he had not been declared brain dead.
Allama Iqbal Medical College principal Mahmood Shaukat, the head of a four-member medical board that is supervising Sarabjit’s treatment, confirmed: “He continues to be serious but has not been declared brain dead."
“In our latest investigation, there was no sign of improvement (in Sarabjit’s condition). Rather, his condition further deteriorated,” he said.
Sarabjit is in a special intensive care unit of the state-run Jinnah Hospital. Shaukat said top neurosurgeons and physicians are providing Sarabjit the best treatment to save his life. A second CT scan on Sarabjit too did not reveal any signs of improvement, Shaukat said.
“The Glasgow Coma Scale of the patient is being monitored on a daily basis,” he added. A source had earlier told PTI that Sarabjit’s condition was measured as 5 on the Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS), which indicates the level of damage to a person’s central nervous system.
The GCS assesses level of consciousness after a profound head injury and Sarabjit’s reading indicated deep unconsciousness, making his treatment a major neurosurgical challenge for the medical board.
Meanwhile reports said that Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur is likely to return to India to seek advice on his treatment in the wake of unconfirmed reports that doctors had declared him brain dead.
Sarabjit’s lawyer Awais Sheikh on Tuesday said Dalbir Kaur had informed him a short while ago of her intention to return to India. It was not immediately clear whether Sarabjit’s wife and two daughters would also return to India, he said. Indian High Commissioner to Pakistan Sharat Sabharwal will visit Sarabjit on Thursday. Pakistan has so far granted officials of the Indian mission consular access to Sarabjit on two occasions.
Earlier, Indian members of an Indo-Pak judicial committee on prisoners visited Sarabjit Singh in the Jinnah Hospital. The committee, which is currently on a visit to Pakistani jails to check on the condition of Indian prisoners lodged there, has two retired judges each from India and Pakistan.
Tuesday’s visit to Jinnah hospital was a departure from the normal mandate of the committee, which visits jails only. The members of the committee arrived in Pakistan for a scheduled visit hours after the 49-year-old death row prisoner was assaulted by inmates in Kot lakhpat Jail on Friday.
External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid on Tuesday said about the condition of Sarabjit: "Just keeping our fingers crossed. The morning bulletin was not very encouraging."