Don't blame us for Sarabjit's death: Sibal

Union minister says India did whatever it could to help Sarabjit Singh, but Pakistan 'failed to ensure' his safety

India did whatever it could to help Sarabjit Singh, but Pakistan "failed to ensure" his safety, Minister for Communications and Information Technology Kapil Sibal said Thursday.

"It was the responsibility of Pakistan to ensure his (Sarabjit Singh's) safety in their jail and they have failed at it. We should not be blamed for it," Sibal told reporters here.

"Our ministries must have taken all the necessary steps and must have done whatever they could because we are always ready to go to any length to ensure the safety of our citizens," he added.

Sarabjit Singh, who was admitted to a Lahore hospital April 26 after being savagely attacked in jail, died early Thursday.

He suffered serious head injuries and was on ventilator support since then.

Sarabjit Singh was on a death row in Pakistan after being convicted by Pakistani courts for bomb blasts in Lahore and Multan that left 14 people dead. He spent over 20 years in jails in that country.

His family claims that he was innocent, and had crossed the international border inadvertently, in an inebriated state, and was arrested in Pakistan.