Sarabjit Singh: 22 Years in Lahore Jail, Killed by Inmates

After 11 years, Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, a perpetrator of bomb attacks in Pakistan, was killed by unknown assailants in Lahore, as reported by the local media. Tamba, who was associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba’s founder Hafiz Sayeed, had been convicted for a series of bomb attacks in Lahore and Faisalabad in 1990, which resulted in the deaths of 14 bystanders.

His sister, Dalbir Kaur, tirelessly campaigned for his release from 1991 until his death in 2013. Tamba’s case was a source of contention between India and Pakistan, as India claimed that he was a farmer who had accidentally strayed into Pakistan, while Pakistan convicted him of terrorism and spying and sentenced him to death.

Despite numerous appeals from India and efforts to postpone the sentence, Tamba was attacked by inmates in a Pakistani prison, sustaining severe injuries that led to his irreversible coma. In April 2013, India appealed to Pakistan to release Tamba on humanitarian grounds or allow him to receive medical treatment in India, but these requests were repeatedly denied.

After his death, Tamba’s body was brought back to India, where a second autopsy revealed that his vital organs had been removed, suggesting foul play. The initial autopsy report from Pakistan indicated that his cause of death was massive internal bleeding due to a head injury.

The circumstances surrounding Tamba’s death and the evidence of foul play raise questions about the treatment he received while incarcerated in Pakistan. This tragic case highlights the ongoing tensions and complex dynamics between India and Pakistan.