PM condoles Sarabjit's death; attacks Pak

Says criminals responsible for the attack should be brought to justice; adds govt will make arrangements to bring Sarabjit's body home

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today condoled the death of Sarabjit Singh, hailing him as a "brave son of India", and attacked Pakistan for not heeding to pleas for taking a humanitarian view on this issue after the deadly attack on the Indian national in a Lahore jail.

In a statement here hours after Sarabjit succumbed to injuries suffered in last week's assault, Singh underlined that the criminals responsible for "the barbaric and murderous attack must be brought to justice".

He said the government will make arrangements to bring 49-year-old Sarabjit's remains home and for his last rites to be conducted in consultation with his family.

"I am deeply saddened by the passing away of Sarabjit Singh. He was a brave son of India who bore his tribulations with valiant fortitude," the Prime Minister said in his condolence message.

"It is particularly regrettable that the government of Pakistan did not heed the pleas of the government of India, Sarabjit's family and of the civil society in India and Pakistan to take a humanitarian view of this case," he said.

He said the nation shares the profound grief of Sarabjit's family. "May his soul be granted the peace that he could not enjoy in life," he added.

External Affairs Minister Salman Khurshid today said he was "extremely anguished" by the death of Sarabjit Singh in a Lahore hospital following a brutal attack on him in a high-security jail.

Sarabjit died of cardiac arrest in a Pakistani hospital in the wee hours today after being comatose for nearly a week following a brutal assault by fellow inmates in a high-security jail.