April 25, 2008	Friday	Rabi-us-Sani 18, 1429

LAHORE, April 24: The five family members of death row inmate Sarabjit Singh had an emotionally charged re-union with him at Kot Lakhpat Central Jail on Thursday. The re-union occurred after 18 years.

After receiving permission from the Punjab Home Department, Sarabjit's wife Sukhpreet Kaur, his daughters Swapandeep and Poonam, his sister Dalbir Kaur and her husband Baldev Singh went to the jail to meet him.

“We never thought of seeing Sarabjit after 18 years. Now, we will pursue the case of his release with the help of rights activist Ansaar Berni,” Dalbir said.

She thanked the media for highlighting the issue of prisoners and appealed to the governments of India and Pakistan to release all prisoners languishing in their jails.

Dalbir claimed that her brother had no hand in terrorism and his involvement in bombings in 1991 was fabricated.

Earlier, the family met Home Secretary Nadeem Hasan Asif at the Civil Secretariat to seek permission to visit the jail.

The home secretary told reporters the law allowed families of any prisoner to meet him but there was no provision on any such permission to the family of the prisoners who were foreigners and involved in terrorism.

Making the most of the occasion, Lahore-based Fiza timed her visit to the Civil Secretariat coincide with the Indians’ visit to the secretariat to push the Pakistani and Indian governments to ensure the release of her relative, who, according to her, has been languishing in an Indian jail for the last 12 years.

She told reporters that Muhammad Javed, of Garhi Shahu, went to India for medical treatment on visit visa but Indian security officials implicated him a narcotics case.

She alleged that Javed had been in Tehar Jail, New Delhi, for the last 12 years and the Indian officials had not released him despite the completion of his sentence.

She added said Javed’s mother had died of cardiac arrest while his father and a sister had also passed away, all in absence of Javed.

Of his four daughters and two sons, three daughters were married in his absence, Fiza added.

She said even though Pakistan had released many Indian prisoners, including Kashmir Singh, India sent bodies of prisoners.

Fiza shared her grief with Dalbir who promised to pursue the case of Javed in India.