The case for killing Sarabjit Singh in retaliation for the killing of Kasab just got stronger as the PTI big guns roared.
“During a demonstration in Multan on Thursday, PTI leader Naeemullah Khan slammed the Pakistan government for taking so long to hang Sarabjit and lauded the Indian judiciary for taking less than four years to execute Kasab.”
I guess any conversation between India-Pak will carry the whiff of “false equivalence” from both sides. In this case the fact that Sarabjit is a Sikh muddies the water a bit more as seen below.
In the mean-time a Sikh Jatha is visiting Pakistan. Things can become tense because the Taliban/LET have threatened retribution for “killing of a muslim on Indian soil.” (Kasab killed a lot of muslims on Indian soil as well, no?)
A 3000-strong Sikh jatha would leave for Pakistan to celebrate the birth anniversary of Guru Nanak on November 25. The jatha would visit Gurdwara Dera Sahib, Lahore, Gurdwara Nankana Sahib, Gurdwara Panja Sahib, Hasanabdal and Gurdwara Kartarpur Sahib before returning on December 4.
Chairman of Evacuee Trust Property Board Sayed Asif Hashmi “As the chairman, ETPB, it is my duty to provide security to each and every devotee visiting Pakistan. Right from entry of pilgrims in Pakistan till their return they would be covered under several layers of security.”
In the meantime some wise words from the Press (english language) in Pakistan.
The Express Tribune, “We must show the world that as a country, we are genuinely-committed to fighting terrorism,” and called for speedy trial of the 26/11 accused in Pakistan. “The obvious foot-dragging is damaging. It raises questions about who we are protecting and why. In this regard, at the top of the list of those accused by the Indian government for the Mumbai attacks, is the leader of the Jamaat ud Dawa, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, a man who is wanted in both India and the US.”
The Dawn said Kasab’s execution “revived the memory of a senseless but well-planned act of mass murder” and questioned how its planning went unnoticed in Pakistan. It noted that Islamabad has distanced itself from “the work of a few fanatic killers”. Also that it “doesn’t serve to hide the shortcomings in the working of Pakistan’s anti-terrorism apparatus and its inability to keep tabs on organizations — not necessarily banned — which manage to amass enough resources to run clandestine cells that undertake fiendish operations of such magnitude.”
Who truly represents the people of Pakistan, the (EL) Press or the PTI? We will have to wait till the elections to find out.
regards
Pakistan please release falsely accused and imprisoned (for 20yrs!) Sarabjit Singh. No more retribution but overdue justice (release him)!
How do you know he’s falsely accused (I don’t know the details of the case, but where’s the evidence)? And even if he IS falsely accused, how many falsely accused Pakistanis are in Indian jails? Two can play at this game….
If the past 65yrs of post-Independence has taught Pakistan had better stop playing the game.
My Pakistaniness is enhanced by my humanity first and foremost not the other way round.
I find it extraordinarily abhorrent to hold anyone for “national pride” or even as a “negotiating tactic” call me an idealist but Pakistan is an ideal, we better live up to it!
Also you have answered it yourself, where is the evidence? In advanced (read Western) societies lack of evidence means no conviction.
Think of Sarabjit Singh’s release as being tantamount to reviving “Ganga-Jamuni” tahzeeb.
Look Zack,
Countries play politics. This is reality. We (Pakistan) cannot release an “Indian Spy” especially not after Bharat just hung a Pakistani citizen (ok, he was a mass murderer but he didn’t get an appeal now did he? How “fair” was his trial?)
I have no great hatred for India, but let Pakistan take decisions that are in its interest. You don’t live here and its quite condescending of you to attempt to tell the Pakistani nation what it should be doing.
I have every right to tell Pakistan and Pakistanis what to do so long as I call myself one.
Also I favour a much more inclusive form of nationality (one drop rule and all), all are Paki until or unless they want to opt of out.
Finally yes a savage society will play politics with human lives, rise above the savagery Pakis.
The rejoicing at Kasab’s death by Indians and the Indian media was quite distasteful, but that he didn’t get an appeal is just false. He did appeal and his case was heard in the Bombay High court, and then in the Supreme court. Both courts upheld the guilty verdict based on CCTV footage of him shooting people, and dozens of eyewitness testimonials, can’t get a more “fair” trial than that can you?
@Zach: +1
Pakistan keeps shooting itself in the foot. If Pakistan wants to improve relations with India they should release Singh back to India. He’s already been in prison for a long time and whatever the facts hardly a threat going forward. Pathetic that PTI wants to play some tit-for-tat about Kasab. But, yeah, you cannot trust the English-language press in Pakistan as a good guide to what the people are thinking. It’s like two different worlds. The last time I was in Lahore to visit my family people laughed at me and said I sounded like a 7-year old when I spoke Punjabi (I can speak Urdu fluently).
It really is two worlds. And never the ‘twain shall meet.
+1 Angrez speaking Pakis need to live up to their avowed liberalism.
Lahore is (or has become) super-Punjabi. Incidentally I have always been a fan of Isb or Khi but could never quite take to Lhr in the same way (except for the food courts).
Yeah, strangely I have never been to Karachi! Islamabad is nice. I don’t have an objective view of Lahore bc I grew up there, but it is definitely more Punjabi-language oriented than when I was a kid. My parents term this “regression” LOL but that is obviously just their self-interested view. Though my Punjabi does suck, apparently!
Lahore is the cultural capital of Punjab! You don’t expect it to be Punjabi?
Though if you talk to certain Punjabi nationalists (admittedly a very small minority), they will lament the fact that most people treat Punjabi as a “baazari language” to be spoken only with servants or with people who don’t understand Urdu.
Lahore is probably the best city in Pakistan. Islamabad is boring, let’s not start on Peshawar, and Karachi is violence ridden and chaotic. In Lahore, we have concerts of classical music, art exhibitions, the food! And of course, comparative lack of sectarian violence or terror attacks. Maybe that’s because Punjab is ethnically very homogenous…..
Lahore is super-provincial in comparison to Karachi. Karachi is turbulent but a world-class city, I imagine it’s same thing as Delhi vs. Bombay..
As for Islamabad it’s an extraordinarily pleasant city to grow up in and while slightly on the quiet side, has stunning vistas and is probably one of the greenest capitals in Asia (if not the world).
I’ve never been to Peshawar nor would be interested; Isb is as close I’ll ever want to get to PakAsia lolz.
As for Punjabi predominance in Lahore; I feel it has certainly increased (linguistically and culturally) but it does mean now that it’s as you put it a much more homogeneous city (Pakistan is not exactly the Punjab, not yet you know) and not as “vibrant” as the others.
Also I find the weird phenomenon of Pathan Punjabis to be quite funny; tribes like the Qaqazais & Niazis will stark hark back to Frontier days even though they’ve been in the Punjab probably for centuries and can no longer speak the Pashto. Irony of ironies; it seems that Dhaka and Lahore post-Partition have just become Muslim shades of their previous selves (I can’t speak as authoritatively on Dhaka there is obviously MUCH more of non-Muslim presence in Bdesh)..
No I understand the Punjabi. It’s just funny I grew up there but my Punjabi is weak. My family is mixed Muhajir/Punjabi FWIW so it’s not as if I see Punjabis as the “other” or anything it’s just not a language I mastered growing up.
Whats wrong with Peshawar? Kabir and Zach.
What’s wrong with Peshawar?
Nothing, except it has borne the brunt of all the wars in Afghanistan. Where did the Afghan refugees go? Peshawar. Peshawar also borders the “tribal areas” where all the drone strikes and stuff is. Peshawar is basically in a war zone and no normal person wants to move there.
Lahore on the other hand is is in the peaceful Pakistani Punjab–the heartland of our country.
Technically wouldn’t the heartland of our country be “Seraikistan.”
50% of Pakistanis are Punjabi. Punjab is the heartland of the country. “Seraiki” is argubly a dialect of Punjabi. There’s a national movement there because Southern Punjab feels disenfranchised that most development funds are spent in Lahore and on Central Punjab ( Faisalabad for example). I don’t necessarily mind Southern Punjab being a new province for administrative reasons, but “Seraikis” are not really some different ethnic group. The Punjabi spoken in a particular village changes every 10 km anyway.
I think a lot of Afghan refugees went to Karachi and are in gangs there now. They are not exactly model citizens!
LOL-this just in-like India, Pakistan has internal problems/dissension!
Also Peshawar was the least under British rule haha..
The way Brit-Paks are beginning to influence the homeland though it’ll probably be the second wave of the Raj (hopefully who knows)..
Engagement with Pakistan seems to be on the increase.
You want to tell Pakistan what to do? Move to Pakistan. Take Pakistani citizenship. Otherwise, you are British and Pakistanis can take or leave your advice. You don’t necessarily have The Islamic Republic of Pakistan’s best interests at heart.
Nor should I; we have left the age of parochialism.
If the best interests of the IRP (as you put it) conflicts with basic human decency then let me be the first to desist.
It’s not about you being non-Muslim, it’s about you not being Pakistani first and foremost. Your life is in Britain. I assume you hold British interests first and foremost. Correct me if I’m wrong.
I am Pakistani-American, but I am a Pakistani first. This doesn’t mean I don’t care about the US, but the best interest of Pakistan has primacy with me.
Non-resident Pakistanis or expatriates don’t have as much stake in Pakistan as Pakistanis living in Pakistan do. So the country goes in the direction that they and not you want.
Lord help us if other hyphenated nationalities feel the same way.
As a Briton of Pakistani and Persian heritage I feel a tie to all my identities however I refuse to succumb to base nationalism (my country first right or wrong, what happened to right or wrong being a moral basis for decision making: ah the perils of nationalism and other base isms).
I would not harm someone in cold blood even if the Almighty Creator manifested Herself and asked me to do so!
The country goes in the direction of the funds proffered and the Diaspora is having an increasingly greater effect. If Pakistanis decide that playing savage is the path to salvation good for them but don’t be surprised or shocked the world will treat Pakis as pariahs and the Pak Diaspora turn back on TNT and decide we are all Indians now (opportunists are the ones who are anyway abroad).
Flexibility, not rigidity, is the way forward for Pakistan; such a precarious nation cannot afford otherwise!
I’m not saying “Pakistan first, right or wrong”. I’m just saying that the Pakistani government represents (in theory) the interests of the 200 million Pakistani citizens. Those citizens elect representatives to Parliament, who legislate. If the majority of those citizens want Islamic law for example (I’m not saying that they do, but for the sake of argument let’s imagine that they do), then a democratic Pakistan would have to implement Islamic law, however much you or I might not like it. That’s the downside of democracy. We can’t have a secular dictator deciding the rules of the game.
In the case of spies, countries have to deal with them the way they think is best. The US still has a convicted Israel spy in prison (despite their great love for Israel). So if the Pakistan government thinks that Sarabjit Singh should stay in prison, that is the the decision of the Pakistani government. India doesn’t deserve any “goodwill gestures”. Note that I also don’t think Sarabjit should be hanged in response to Kasab’s hanging. I think we have to let the Pakistani legal system take its course.
Yeah seriously.I am a former citizen of Pakistan, but don’t get too bent of shape we are just talking on the internet!
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“The rejoicing at Kasab’s death by Indians and the Indian media was quite distasteful”
I am not sure what sites you have seen but I have seen three primary arguments being made:
1) The main culprits were never booked. Kasab is just a pawn.
2) Hanging Kasab was to show that India is a strong state. However (it was opined) that such an argument has many flaws.
3) Hanging Kasab was to show that Congress is serious about terrorism. This will help Congress win the Gujarat elections.
Smita Salaskar (26/11 widow) opined that while she got a bit of closure, there is no rejoicing when Hafiz Saeed is strutting around like a peacock.
Finally there is also Meenakshi Ganguly of Human Rights Watch berating India for having even invoked the death penalty:
“Human Rights Watch is opposed to the death penalty under all circumstances as an inherently irreversible, inhumane punishment. It is a practice abolished by a majority of world states. On December 18, 2007, the United Nations general assembly passed by a wide margin a resolution calling for a worldwide moratorium on executions. In fact, the international community had moved further towards abolishing the death penalty on November 19, 2012, when 110 countries approved a general assembly draft resolution calling for a moratorium on executions. India was part of a tiny minority that voted to retain capital punishment, arguing for it being used sparingly, and in cases of particularly heinous crimes.”
While I am naturally sympathetic to the abolish argument it is simply deceitful to claim “tiny minority that voted to retain capital punishment” since [ref. wiki] “58 countries (29%) maintain the death penalty in both law and practice. These countries make up approximately 66% of the world’s population in 2012.”
regards
http://outlookindia.com/article.aspx?283072