Pakistan: Amir Sarfaraz, killer of Sarabjit Singh, shot dead by 'unknown' men in Lahore

The latest killing of Tamba came at a time when a spree of killings were reported in Pakistan, with all following more or less a similar pattern. Although Pakistan’s security agencies failed to identify the killers, recently, they started blaming Indian officials behind the killings.

Lahore: In a major development, Amir Sarfaraz alias Tamba, the killer of Indian national Sarabjit Singh in jail, was shot dead by unknown men in Lahore. According to the sources, Tamba was attacked by motorcycle-borne assailants in the Islampura area of Lahore in Pakistan and was rushed in critical condition to a hospital where he succumbed to his injuries, the sources said.

Notably, the latest killing might be connected to a string of mysterious deaths in the neighbouring nation who were either wanted criminals in India or involved in terror attacks. Tamba, whose father’s name is Sarfaraz Javed, was born in Lahore in 1979 and was a close associate of the LeT founder.

Image Source : INDIA TVAmir Tanba, the person who killed the convicted Sarabjit Singh inside Lahore Jail

Who was Sarabjit Singh?

Notably, Sarabjit was born in Bhikhiwind, a region located along the Indo-Pakistani border in the Tarn Taran district of Punjab. According to Indian authorities, he was a farmer, who had strayed into Pakistan in the early 1990s. However, a Pakistan court convicted him and announced a death sentence for allegedly killing at least 14 people in a bomb blast in Lahore and Faisalabad in 1990. However, the death sentence was repeatedly postponed by the Pakistani government.

While in prison at Kot Lakhpat Jail, Lahore in April 2013, Singh was attacked by fellow inmates--Amir Sarfraz alias Tamba and Mudassir Munir-- with bricks and iron rods. He had succumbed to his injuries six days later at the Jinnah Hospital in Lahore. Although the matter turned political ever since Sarabjit got the death sentence, the relations between the two nations poised to a new low in 2013 following his murder in jail. His sister, Dalbir Kaur, had fought a tough long battle to secure the release of his brother from the neighbouring nation, but failed. She later died in 2022 in Amritsar. 

A case was registered against the duo for killing Sarabjit but the Pakistani court had acquitted the accused in 2018 citing "lack of evidence and due to the resiling of prosecution witnesses." 

The mystery behind "unknown men"

It is worth mentioning the latest killing of Tamba came at a time when a spree of killings were reported in Pakistan, with all following more or less a similar pattern. Although Pakistan’s security agencies failed to identify the killers, recently, they started blaming Indian officials behind the killings but it did not exhibit any concrete evidence to support the claims.

Recently, a UK media report also alleged that the Indian spy agency, RAW, was involved in the multiple killings of Pakistani nationals, whom New Delhi dubbed as "wanted terrorists". Citing a few officials from Pakistan, the report alleged India's involvement but the London-based media too did not offer any proof.

India, on the other hand, rejected the claims and tagged them as "baseless allegations". However, later in a podcast, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh said: "India would enter Pakistan if terrorists ran away to the neighbouring nation after carrying out terror strikes in the country." A similar statement was also echoed by External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar, who said "terrorists don't execute operations with rules, they why India's response should be abide by the rules".