Our government failed us: Sarabjit's sister

'The worst has happened to us. My brother could have returned to India, but our government did not take effective and strong initiatives.' Sarabjit Singh's sister tells Rediff.com's Onkar Singh.

Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Sarbjit Singh who died following a cardiac arrest at a Lahore hospital in the wee hours of Thursday, has blamed the Indian government for not taking immediate action and seeking her brother's release after the Pakistan government promised to do so.

"Sadhe naal bahut bura hoya. Mera bhara zinda wapis aa sak da se jeh sadhi sarkar odhi rihai layee majboot kadam chukdi (The worst has happened to us. My brother could have returned to India, but our government did not take effective and strong initiatives)," a grief-striken Dalbir Kaur told Rediff.com on the phone on Thursday morning.

The doctors at the Jinnah hospital in Lahore had sought Sarabjit Singh's family's permission to take him off the ventilator. Dalbir Kaur, however, rejected this request and returned home with other members of the family for consultation with the Indian government.

"I had hardly crossed the border when I started feeling uneasy. Last night's call from Pakistan shattered my dreams. My brother is no more," she said.

Dalbir Kaur now hopes that the Pakistan government repatriates her brother's body for the last rites.