Amid a pall of gloom that descended upon the family of Sarabjit Singh–the Indian prisoner who suffered a severe assault in Pakistan jail– the news of Pakistan granting them visa came as a beacon of light on Saturday. They will travel to the neighbouring country on Sunday from the Attari-Wagha border to meet Singh, presently in coma in Lahore’s Jinnah Hospital.
The inconsolable family broke down several times during the course of the day as sketchy details of Sarabjit’s failing health trickled in through television channels in their Amritsar home. The attack also increased the uncertainty over the release and return of Sarabjit who has spent 22 years in a case of mistaken identity. The family could do little but pray.
“It’s his life that matters the most,” said Sarabjit’s sister Dalbir Kaur, whose health has taken a beat since she heard the news of assault on her brother by fellow inmates in jail. Doctors treated Kaur for high blood pressure and breathlessness. Their native village Bhikhiwara, 50 km from Amritsar, observed a bandh to protest against the incident.
The family knows that the way forward is more challenging than ever before. Sarabjit’s two daughters, Swapandeep and Poonam, and his wife Sukhpreet Kaur along with sister Dalbir–who will travel to Pakistan on Sunday–remained glued to the television set most of the time. They were scheduled to visit Delhi on Saturday for visa.
However, Raj Kumar Verka, vice chairman of the National Commission for SC/ST, took the passports of Sarabjit’s family members to Delhi by the afternoon flight from Amritsar. He later informed that the visas had been issued by Pakistan.
Dalbir Kaur reiterated that the brutal attack on her brother was a “planned conspiracy” and only a comprehensive probe could unravel the truth. “My brother has been saying since sometime that his life was under threat and we had raised the issue with the Indian government. But nothing much was done,” she said.