|
|
Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay continued to be ‘critically sick’ and in “deep coma”, a statement issued by the Pakistan High Commission said yesterday.
Pakistani diplomats yesterday visited PGIMER (Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research) where the comatose Pakistani prisoner is being treated after being attacked by a prisoner in a Jammu jail Friday.
“The officials were informed by a medical board that Sanaullah’s neurological status continues to be same as Saturday in deep coma and is on a ventilator. Hence he continues to be critically sick,” the statement said.
Ranjay, lodged in Jammu’s Kot Bhalwal Jail, was critically injured after being attacked by an Indian prisoner on Friday, prompting Islamabad to demand his immediate release and repatriation.
The Pakistani was flown from Jammu to PGIMER for treatment.
The incident took place a day after Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner in Pakistan, succumbed to grievous injuries sustained in a murderous assault on him in Lahore’s Kot Lakhpat Jail.
Meanwhile, Press Council of India chairman Markandeya Katju yesterday appealed to the central government to release injured Pakistani prisoner Sanaullah Ranjay as a “humanitarian act”.
“I appeal to the Indian government to forthwith send back Sanaullah, a Pakistani prisoner who was attacked in a Jammu jail and is said to be in a coma, to Pakistan, as requested by the Pakistan government. This will be a humanitarian act,” Katju said on his blog.
He requested India and Pakistan governments to immediately set up committees to review cases of all prisoners in either country, and to set up mechanisms for early release of those convicted on alleged confessions or insufficient or suspicious evidence.
“Many such persons have been convicted on alleged confessions. Everyone knows how confessions are obtained in our countries (by third degree methods),” he added.
In a related incident all 57 prisoners from Pakistan lodged in various jails in Punjab will be segregated from the rest of the inmates to ensure their safety, following the recent assault on a Pakistani prisoner in a Jammu jail.
Punjab Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal has directed prison officials to tighten the security of Pakistani prisoners lodged in the jails across the state, a spokesman said yesterday.