On a day when the arrest of a Pakistani-American in the attempted bombing at New York City's Times Square was the ‘breaking news,' Ajmal Kasab — convicted on Monday for his involvement in the Mumbai 2008 terror attacks — continued to hog the headlines in Pakistan.
Special public prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam's briefings to the media were telecast repeatedly and the developments in the special sessions court in Mumbai's Arthur Road jail were being monitored closely. In fact, television channels whipped up interest in the proceedings in advance with curtain-raisers on air since Sunday.
While there has been no official reaction as yet, the court indictment of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and operations chief Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi was protested by the Jamaat-ud-Dawa. According to a report published in the Daily Times from Lahore, Jamaat-ud-Dawa spokesman Yahya Mujahid said India was trying to defame the Kashmiri freedom movement by unjustifiably naming Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur Lakhvi.
“Right after the Mumbai attacks, Saeed categorically denied any involvement of his organisation, in a press conference held the next day,” the spokesman said. Further, according to him, the Attorney-General, the Advocate-General of Punjab and other government law officials had put forth all available evidence before the Lahore High Court (LHC) on the matter. “After careful review and diligent hearings, a full bench of the LHC decided that all the accusations against Saeed were baseless.”
Meanwhile, reports from Kasab's village in Faridkot suggest disappointment over his conviction. The AFP, which accessed his remote village, said villagers denounced his conviction as a travesty of justice at the hands of India. What has apparently angered the villagers is the acquittal of Fahim Ansari and Sabahuddin Ahmed — the two Indians accused in the case along with Kasab.
“Why was there no equal sentence for all the culprits and why has only Ajmal been declared a criminal,” is their question; insisting that Kasab is a child and could not have committed such an act of terror. And, those who concede the possibility of his involvement maintain that the 22-year-old was just a pawn in the hands of powerful jihadi groups.
