Upholding Kasab’s death penalty

While India has right to be aggrieved about our slow response to Mumbai attacks, peace process should not be hindered.

The Indian Supreme Court’s decision to uphold the death penalty verdict against 26/11 gunman Ajmal Kasab is likely to reignite arguments over terrorism between Pakistan and India at the ongoing Non-Aligned Movement conference in Tehran. The leaders of the two countries are scheduled to meet on the sidelines and there is every chance that India will press Pakistan to speed up its own cases on the Mumbai terrorist attacks. The question of Pakistani state involvement will also cast a shadow over the talks as India bolstered by testimony in the Kasab trial, is convinced that we were involved in the planning of the attacks. The best reaction to these accusations is not petulance and anger but an agreement that we need to move forward quickly in our own trial of 26/11 being conducted in Rawalpindi.

India, too, can lend us a helping hand by allowing us to cross-examine prosecution witnesses. Much of the heavy lifting, however, will have to be done by Pakistan. The alleged mastermind of the attacks, Hafiz Saeed, roams free while his outfit, the Jamaatud Dawa, operates unimpeded across the country, despite having been classified as a terrorist group by the United Nations. These are not the actions of a state that is serious about bringing to justice those responsible for the 26/11 attacks.

While India has a right to be aggrieved about our lethargic response to the Mumbai attacks, the peace process should not be hindered. It is better to concentrate on issues like a liberalised visa regime and freer trade, where agreement can be sought. The spectre of terrorism will always hang over the two countries’ relations but should not be allowed to consume them. The Pakistani judicial system is notoriously poor when it comes to convicting alleged terrorists for a variety of reasons, including poor evidence gathering, fear of militant reprisals and interference from lawless intelligence agencies. Though this frustrates India, punishing the civilian government for these problems will only end up strengthening those who have no desire for peace.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 31^st, 2012.