`Govt`s timely concern could have helped Sarabjit`

Lodged in Kot Lakhpat jail of Pakistan since 1990, Sarabjit Singh was convicted by the Pakistani authorities for his alleged involvement in 1990 serial bomb blasts.

Bhopal: Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarabjit Singh, who has been jailed in Pakistan since 1990, said she was upset with the Indian government for not showing timely concern towards her brother.

"If the government had shown its concern in time, my brother would have been standing with me," Dalbir said here on Sunday evening. Dalbir and Sarabjit`s daughter Poonam had come here to attend an event organised to raise voice to demand his release. Dalbir said she had also met former prime minister PV Narasimha Rao long time back over her brother`s imprisonment in Pakistan, but it did not yield any result. On the occasion, Poonam said her family had recently appealed to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to exert pressure on Pakistan to release her father. She said that they had so far met a total of 173 leaders but none of them could help them in securing Sarabjit`s release. Lodged in Kot Lakhpat jail of Pakistan since 1990, Sarabjit was convicted by the Pakistani authorities for his alleged involvement in 1990 serial bomb blasts in Lahore and Faisalabad that killed 14 people. However, Sarabjit claimed that he was a farmer and victim of mistaken identity, who strayed into Pakistan from his village located on the border. He was awarded death sentence in 1991. PTI