LAHORE, Aug 30: A two-member delegation of the Indian High Commission on Tuesday visited a fellow countryman who is on death row in the Kot Lakhpat Jail.

Indian HC visa counsellor Deepak Kaul and another official, Mr Sharma, met Sarabjit Singh who was sentenced to death for terrorist activities in Pakistan. The two remained with the prisoner for about an hour and a half.

Talking to reporters later, the officials said the purpose of their visit was to confirm whether the prisoner was an Indian national. “We have got all the details about his identification and his case. We are sending these details to Delhi for official confirmation of his identity.”

The diplomats said the prisoner was in a good health, adding he had given them a message for his family. “It (the message) is for his family and not for media,” one of the officials replied when reporters asked for details of the message.

The officials expressed ignorance when asked whether the prisoner’s family would be coming to the Wagah border in a day or two.

They thanked the Pakistan government for giving them access to the prisoner, and termed it a positive development. Such steps, they said, would help secure the release of prisoners from both sides of the border on humanitarian grounds. “We hope that the issue (of prisoners) would be resolved amicably,” they said.