The man who killed an Indian man named Sarabjit Singh has been recently shot dead by an unidentified assailant in Lahore.
Amir Sarfaraz Tamba, an accused in Sarabjit Singh’s murder was killed by unidentified gunmen in Lahore on Sunday. Let’s have a detailed look at who was he and who killed him.
Who was Sarabjit Singh?
Born in Bhikhiwind, India, Sarabjit Singh Attwal was a farmer according to Indian accounts, and an Indian spy, according to Pakistan.
Why was he arrested?
In 1990, Sarabjit Singh was arrested by Pakistani border guards from the Indo-Pak border in an inebriated state. His wife claimed he had gone to work on his fields near the Wagah border and had not returned.
Sarabjit was initially charged with illegally crossing into Pakistan, and was later accused of being involved in four bombings in Faisalabad and Lahore that caused the death of 14 people.
Sentenced to death
In 1991, a Pakistani court found him guilty of terrorism and sentenced him to death under the Pakistan Army Act. A higher court later upheld the decision. Subsequently, his appeals for mercy were rejected by the Supreme Court.
Petition
In 2012, Sarabjit petitioned once more to then Pakistan President Asaf Ali Zardari for mercy. This time, his death sentence was commuted to life imprisonment.
In the same year, Pakistani officials indicated that Sarabjit could be released as part of a prisoner exchange with India. However, a different man was released in his place, raising the Indian government’s ire.
Murder
Singh spent 22 years in a Lahore jail after being convicted by Pakistan of espionage and terrorism, till an attack by inmates killed him in 2013.
In 2013, Sarabjit was attacked with bricks and iron rods by a group of inmates in Lahore, putting him in a coma. Several demands by the Indian government to move him to India for treatment, or to a third country, were rejected by Pakistan. Sarabjit died in Lahore on May 1.
Arrest of Tamba
In 2018, a Pakistani court acquitted Tamba and co-accused Mudassar of all charges in the case related to Sarabjit’s death, citing lack of evidence, PTI had reported.
Murder of Tamba
After 11 years, Amir Sarfaraz Tamba who was also a close associate of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed, was killed by unidentified gunmen in a “targeted attack” in Lahore this weekend.
How was he killed?
Tamba was reportedly attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants in a thickly populated area of old Lahore. He was rushed to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries.
