Parliament shocked at Sarabjit’s death

The treatment meted out to Sarabjit was inhuman, the resolution said

Updated - November 16, 2021 08:31 pm IST - New Delhi

Parliament on Thursday expressed shock at the death of Sarabjit Singh and condemned the “inhuman treatment” meted out to him in a Pakistan jail where he was brutally assaulted last week.

The issue resonated in both Houses, with Lok Sabha passing a resolution after two adjournments forced after members created an uproar and shouted anti-Pakistan slogans.

“This House expresses its deep sense of shock and sorrow on the sad demise of Sarabjit Singh, an Indian citizen in Jinnah Hospital, Lahore in Pakistan today after he was brutally assaulted by his fellow inmates in a Pakistan jail,” said the resolution moved by Speaker Meira Kumar.

“This House condemns the inhuman treatment meted out to Sarabjit Singh in Pakistan jail and hopes that the culprits will be brought to book,” said the resolution.

The House mourned the demise with members standing in silence for a while as a mark of respect to Sarabjit.

The issue was raised as soon as the House assembled for the day, with BJP members storming the Well raising anti-Pakistan slogans in protest against Sarabjit’s death.

“Pakistan down down,” they chanted.

Shahnawaz Hussain (BJP) was questioning why the House was not condemning Pakistan.

The House witnessed two more adjournments on the issue as well as some other matters.

As the House met again at noon, the Speaker moved the resolution.

Rajya Sabha also saw members protesting the death of Sarabjit and condemning the murderous assault.

Leader of Opposition in the Rajya Sabha Arun Jaitley said “today is a day of sadness, regret and anguish” in view of the way Sarabjit Singh was killed in Pakistan.

“I am sure the whole Parliament will raise its voice unanimously. The issue was lingering for long and we express our condolences with the family,” he said.

The BJP leader used the issue to target the government, and asked which way India’s foreign policy headed. “It is a sample of how our tottering government has turned coward,” he said.

Mr Jaitley said Pakistan has lost several battles with India and this is an alternative to execution of death sentence that Pakistan has found. “Even birds cannot venture or fly near the prison cell as prisoners are kept in seclusion,” he said.

“A prisoner cannot be attacked like that and Pakistan’s claim that this is an act of non-state actors cannot be believed as it seems that Sarabjit was thrown before wolves,” Mr. Jaitley said.

He insisted that this could not have happened “without the total involvement of Pakistan government and police forces“.

He asked the government to do some introspection of its foreign policy.

BSP leader S C Mishra termed Sarbajit’s death as murder and said it needs to be condemned strongly.

0 / 0
Sign in to unlock member-only benefits!
  • Access 10 free stories every month
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign-up/manage your newsletter subscriptions with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early access to discounts & offers on our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.

We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of The Hindu and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.