Pakistani officials visit injured prisoner

New Delhi: Pakistani diplomats Saturday visited a Chandigarh hospital where a comatose Pakistani prisoner is being treated after being attacked by a prisoner in a Jammu jail, authorities said, adding they will be granted consular access once daily. "Pakistani officials had consular access to Sanaullah Ranjay and also met attending doctors in Chandigarh," tweeted external affairs ministry spokesperson Syed Akbaruddin. The Pakistan High Commission said their diplomats visited Ranjay at 3 a.m. today Saturday and met the hospital medical board.

The doctors "have given a very pessimistic prognosis of Ranjay`s recovery or survival and rule out prospects of his medical evacuation", a high commission statement said. The mission officers are in Chandigarh and in contact with doctors. "Medical condition shows that Sanaullah was subjected to multiple brutal assaults of unspeakable savagery in the Jammu jail, which is a matter of deep concern," the statement added. Ranjay, a Pakistani lodged in Jammu`s Kot Bhalwal Jail, was critically injured after being attacked by an Indian prisoner Friday, prompting Islamabad to demand his immediate release and repatriation. The Pakistan was flown to the Post-Graduate Institute of Medical Education and Research (PGIMER) in Chandigarh for treatment. The incident took place a day after Sarabjit Singh, an Indian prisoner in Pakistan, succumbed to grievous injuries sustained in a murderous assault on him in Lahore`s Kot Lakhpat Jail. IANS