KARACHI: This is with reference to a news item published in The Express Tribune “India outraged over Pakistan’s resolution for Afzal Guru” (March 16). Before I analyse India’s outrage, I want to draw attention to the headline of the news report.
If one reads the resolution presented by JUI-F chief Maulana Fazlur Rehman, it does not say anything against the hanging of Afazl Guru; instead, it demands that India stop its brutal actions against those who were protesting Guru’s execution. This is a rational demand. Furthermore, the resolution demands that Guru’s body should be handed over to the family for a proper burial. This is not only a rational demand, but also a humane one. Why is the Indian government reluctant to do that?
Also, if India was right in executing Guru, then why was his hanging kept so secret? Why was his family not informed and not allowed to meet him? Indian parliamentarians in their outburst accused Pakistan of supporting extremist and terrorist elements, but what are they doing themselves? India’s outrage speaks volumes about the human rights violations taking place in Kashmir.
Bismah Mirza
Published in The Express Tribune, March 20th, 2013.
