Sarabjit Singh - 10 things to know with detail
- 1. Sarabjit Singh was an Indian national who was wrongly imprisoned in Pakistan for over two decades on charges of espionage and terrorism.
- 2. He was arrested in 1990 near the Pakistan-India border and was accused of being involved in a series of bomb blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad that killed 14 people.
- 3. Despite maintaining his innocence and claiming that he was a farmer who had strayed into Pakistan by mistake, Sarabjit was convicted and sentenced to death by a Pakistani court in 1991.
- 4. His case garnered international attention and was a source of tension between India and Pakistan, with the Indian government repeatedly seeking clemency for him.
- 5. In 2008, Sarabjit's death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment by the then President of Pakistan, Pervez Musharraf, but he remained in prison for another five years.
- 6. Sarabjit's family continued to fight for his release, with his sister Dalbir Kaur becoming a prominent advocate for his cause and campaigning tirelessly for his freedom.
- 7. In May 2013, Sarabjit was attacked by fellow inmates in Kot Lakhpat jail in Lahore and sustained severe head injuries. He was in a coma for several days before succumbing to his injuries on May 2, 2013.
- 8. The circumstances surrounding Sarabjit's death remain controversial, with some alleging that he was targeted in a deliberate attack by Pakistani authorities, while others claim that it was a case of mistaken identity.
- 9. Sarabjit's death sparked outrage in India, with protests and calls for retaliation against Pakistan. The Indian government condemned the attack and demanded a thorough investigation into the incident.
- 10. Sarabjit Singh's tragic story has become a symbol of the complex and often strained relations between India and Pakistan, highlighting the plight of individuals caught in the crossfire of political tensions and border disputes.