After Kasab

After Kasab

After the execution of Ajmal Kasab, few Pakistani papers carried reports and editorials. The Express Tribune's November 21 editorial looked ahead: "militant groups in the country also commented on the execution, with the Lashkar-e-Toiba stating that Kasab was a hero and the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan expressing shock over his execution... With such views rampant, we must show the world that as a country, we are genuinely committed to fighting terrorism. For this reason, the process of trying the accused in our country must be expedited... It raises questions about who we are protecting and why... at the top of the list of those accused by the Indian government in the Mumbai attacks is leader of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Hafiz Muhammad Saeed... New Delhi says it has provided evidence to our government of involvement of Pakistani individuals in the 2008 attacks but Islamabad denies substantive proof. Such misconceptions need to be determinedly resolved if militancy is to be brought down in the country."

Dawn's editorial said: "the authorities in Islamabad acted to establish facts that distanced the state from the work of a few fanatic killers. But that doesn't serve to hide the shortcomings in the working of Pakistan's anti-terrorism apparatus and its inability to keep tabs on organisations..."

A right-wing paper, The Nation, took a tough line while condemning 26/11: "The BJP's message that the event was a lesson for neighbouring states displays the hostile posturing that has been associated with this extremist organisation. There are... prisoners, including the one guilty of Rajiv Gandhi's murder that took place in 1991, who are on death row and have yet to meet their fate; the haste with which Kasab has been hanged, therefore, stands in sharp contrast to that tradition. In the wake of the execution the thought that the conviction was doubtful lingers on; this is compounded for want of conclusive proof... amid Indian authorities denying a chance to [the] Pakistani judicial commission to probe Kasab to their satisfaction."

... contd.

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