Almaty:
India today got consular access to the death row convict Sarabjit Singh in the Intensive Care Unit of a hospital in Lahore, where he was admitted after being attacked by a few prisoners in the jail.
"Officers of India's High Commission in Islamabad obtained access to Sarabjit Singh in the ICU of Jinnah hospital, Lahore at 2:00 am," External Affairs Ministry spokesman Syed Akbaruddin said.
The attack occurred when the victim and other prisoners were brought out of their cells for an hour-long break. The prisoners assaulted Sarabjit with blunt objects and he sustained a severe head injury.
Sarabjit was initially taken to the hospital within the prison. After his condition worsened, he was moved in an ambulance to the state-run hospital, officials in Lahore said.
Sarabjit was convicted for alleged involvement in a string of bomb attacks in Punjab province that killed 14 people in 1990.
His mercy petitions were rejected by the courts and former President Pervez Musharraf.
The outgoing Pakistan People's Party-led government put off Sarabjit's execution for an indefinite period in 2008.
Sarabjit's family says he is the victim of mistaken identity and had inadvertently strayed across the border in an inebriated state.