Khalid Mehmood, the Pakistani national, died of natural causes, of chronic liver disease only. No foul play, please, India asserts. But Pakistan is furious.

The fate of Indian national Sarabjit Singh, convicted of terrorist activities in Pakistan and awaiting hanging, could depend on whether Pakistan is willing to buy its neighbour’s explanations.

Khalid Mahmood, 30, died on Feb 12 this year at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi,  but his family in Pakistan was informed about his death only on March 4.

“It is regrettable that India did not inform Pakistan’s High Commission in New Delhi about the arrest of the deceased as required under international diplomatic norms in such cases,” Foreign Office spokesman Muhammad Sadiq had said last week.

He said that Pakistan was shocked and angered at the death of Khalid in mysterious circumstances and it had asked the Indian Ministry of External Affairs to get the matter thoroughly investigated and share the outcome with Pakistan.

On Thursday Indian officials claimed that Khalid had been suffering from chronic liver disease and died due to "medical problems."

The internal inquiry by jail officials and magisterial probe have established that Khalid Mehmood alias Azad died due to chronic hepatitis and rupture of blood vessels in liver," Haryana Director-General of Prisons Dr John V George said, giving details of the preliminary probe into the Pakistani's death after he was shifted to hospital from a Gurgaon jail.