The death of Indian national Sarabjit Singh in a Pakistani hospital after a brutal attack on him inside jail premises has angered a substantial section of the Indian society. How should India respond to this? Does this have the potential to ruin India-Pakistan relations? Suhasini Haidar, senior editor, CNN-IBN, joined IBNLive readers for an interaction on the issue.
Q. @ShashiTharoor : We all mourn for #SarabjitSingh. But several parties hv been in power since his arrest. Did NDAGovt raise his case in Lahore/Agra/Islamabad? is it fair reason for failure? Asked by: Hari
A. It's a fair point, Hari...Sarabjit Singh has been on death row for 2 decades, and during this time, no Indian government has done more than make a request for his release. Good Afternoon everyone. I hope to be chatting with you for the next 30 minutes, will try and answer as many questions as possible.
Q. How should India respond to Sarabjit Singh's death? Asked by: guru
A. There is no question that Sarabjit Singh's death is a violation of basic rights- that an Indian national should be practically beaten to death inside a high security prison. India must take this up at an international level, if it can, as there are several conventions for the protection of human rights. This is also the right time to press for the release/better rights of all other Indian prisoners inside Pakistani jails, and certainly for bettering their security.
Q. Suhasini, after Hanging Afzal Guru and Kasab, if any one believed this was not in the offing, then we are living in fools world. We are as much responsible for Sarabjit's fate as much as Pakistan is. Somewhere the opposition parties all of those who were asking for Kasab's and Afzal hanging are also responsible for this death. Asked by: S ESHWAR
A. S Eshwar, after those hangings, the least the Pakistan government should have done was upgraded Sarabjit Singh's security within prison walls..why was he so poorly protected that just 2 men (according to the Pakistani chargesheet) were able to overpower guards and kill Sarabjit.
Q. Is it not waste of time to discus about Pakistan..it is a failed state and India soft behaviour towards them had made them more stubborn..what has been done by Pak now is no strange..we should break all the ties with Pak and daily shame them in Indian media... Asked by: Rohit
A. Not sure what that would achieve, Rohit, Pakistan remains a neighbouring country. Thanks for writing in.
Q. In all fairness given the background of Sarabjit's case and his current medical status do you think the Government of India did enough or could they have done much better? Asked by: JS
A. Well, JS, they certainly could have been more effective, to start with. Remember, Pakistan has released other prisoners in the past-- including Kashmir Singh, Gopal Dass, Surjeet Singh, and it quite possible if India had made Sarabjit Singh a bigger priority thy may have been more successful, especially after the threats he received. Once the attack happened, of course, its hard to say he could actually have been moved. Maybe the grievance is that they didn't move fast enough.
Q. Was Sarabjit a spy in Pakistan for India? Is he a martyr then? Asked by: guru
A. Guru, that is a question that must be answered by the Indian government- because many of the released Indian prisoners have returned to india and given interviews that they were spies who had gone to Pakistan at the bidding of Indian intelligence agencies..if that is true, India's government has a bigger duty to own and acknowledge Sarabjit.
Q. Is there chances now that Pakistan may release some Indian prisoners who are getting threats..is there any possibility or consideration from Pakistan side. Asked by: Rajesh
A. Let see what India asks for. But they should certainly take up the security of Indian prisoners thee on an emergency basis.
Q. Is there any scope for better India-Pakistan relations after Sarabjit's death? Asked by: arya
A. Remember Pakistan will have a new government in 10 days...really hard to see how they will pick up the threads that have snapped since Januay, but since both sides say they are committed to the dialogue process...they will have to find a way. Thank you all for your questions, folks...I will be back later...but ending the chat for now!
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