New Delhi: The Government on Friday said it has no "definitive answer" regarding the release of Sarabjit Singh who is languishing in a Pakistani jail.
"We have no definitive answer about Sarabjit Singh at the moment," Minister of State for External Affairs E Ahamed told the Rajya Sabha during a discussion on discrimination against Indians in British jails and negotiation for release of Indians in British jails.
He said the number of prisoners in British jails have come down to 239 in August from 259 in December 2005 and that there is no discrimination against Indian prisoners.
The total number of Indian prisoners in the different countries of the world have also come down to 5,811 from 6,656, he said.
The prisoners are being held on charges like murder, abduction, theft, sexual abuse and drug trafficking.
Government is helping out Indians held in different countries like Gulf, he said adding that no drug-related case is tolerated in Saudi Arabia.
The minister said the privacy laws of Britain prevent its government from sharing details of prisoners held there and the charges they are held on.
But the British government has recently agreed to share the information which cannot be used publicly.
Ahamed said if any Indian prisoner undergoing sentence in Britain wants to spend rest of his term in India, the person can approach the government.
Earlier participating in the discussion, several members of the Rajya Sabha expressed their concern over the poor treatment of Indians in foreign jails.
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