Ajmal Kasab should be hanged: Malik
Interior minister says Kasab was a non-state actor and had no support from the Pakistani establishment.
VILLINGILI ISLAND/MALDIVES:
Besides discussing trade and visa liberalisation, security-related issues were also on the agenda at the SAARC summit.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of the conference, Interior Minister Rehman Malik declared that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks, “is a terrorist, a non-state actor who should go to the gallows”.
He added that a judicial panel is due in India “shortly” to investigate the attacks that killed 166 people, and that if the judicial commission gets evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attacks, it would help the government in prosecuting the accused.
Indian media quoted Manmohan Singh as telling Gilani at the summit that “it is imperative to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 attacks to justice”. Reports also said that Pakistan has promised to bring the trial of the seven suspects belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistani custody to conclusion.
Kasab, a Pakistani national, was earlier handed a death sentence but the execution was stayed by the Supreme Court of India.
(Read: Ajmal Kasab verdict & after)
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM REUTERS
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2011.
Besides discussing trade and visa liberalisation, security-related issues were also on the agenda at the SAARC summit.
Speaking to media on the sidelines of the conference, Interior Minister Rehman Malik declared that Ajmal Kasab, the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attacks, “is a terrorist, a non-state actor who should go to the gallows”.
He added that a judicial panel is due in India “shortly” to investigate the attacks that killed 166 people, and that if the judicial commission gets evidence of Pakistani involvement in the attacks, it would help the government in prosecuting the accused.
Indian media quoted Manmohan Singh as telling Gilani at the summit that “it is imperative to bring the perpetrators of 26/11 attacks to justice”. Reports also said that Pakistan has promised to bring the trial of the seven suspects belonging to Lashkar-e-Taiba in Pakistani custody to conclusion.
Kasab, a Pakistani national, was earlier handed a death sentence but the execution was stayed by the Supreme Court of India.
(Read: Ajmal Kasab verdict & after)
WITH ADDITIONAL INPUT FROM REUTERS
Published in The Express Tribune, November 11th, 2011.