Sanaullah Haq case: Pak seeks probe, India assures full cooperation

New Delhi: As Pakistan prisoner Sanaullah Haq, who was attacked in a Jammu jail by his fellow Indian inmate on Friday, continues to be treated in a Chandigarh hospital, Islamabad has asked Delhi to ensure a thorough investigation into the incident.

Pakistan's caretaker Prime Minister Mir Hazar Khan Khoso called on his Indian counterpart to personally look into the incident and ensure a thorough investigation. "We have also called for Sanaullah Haq's evacuation to Pakistan on medical and humanitarian grounds. It is our expectation that the Indian government would ensure the safety of all Pakistani prisoners in Indian jails," he said.

India has also assured full cooperation to Pakistan saying it will provide "whatever assistance will be needed" in the case. "Any form of personal injury caused in circumstances such as incarceration of prisoners is unacceptable and sad and we're therefore cooperating with Pakistani side giving them consular access. And we will give whatever assistance is needed and called for. But more facts, I hope, will emerge and we'll be in a better position to respond on the facts as the time goes by," said External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid.

Meanwhile, Khoso said both India and Pakistan should continue to make sincere efforts to avoid occurrence of such incidents and focus on the safety and security of prisoners in existing forums under the bilateral dialogue process.

Sanaullah, a Pakistani national serving a life sentence in Jammu's Kot Bhalwal Jail, was bludgeoned with a pickaxe by a fellow inmate, who is a former Indian Army man on Friday. The incident took place a day after Indian convict Sarabjit Singh, who was lodged in a Lahore jail, succumbed to the injuries he sustained in a brutal assault within the prison. Sanaullah is currently admitted at PGI, Chandigarh, where he was airlifted from Jammu for treatment.

The attack on the Pakistani prisoner has embarrassed both the Centre and the Jammu and Kashmir government. "It is a very unfortunate incident. Both countries need to secure each other's prisoners. They must separate the two nationalities," said Minister of State for External Affairs Preneet Kaur on Friday.