10-05-2006, 12:46 AM
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin--><b>Let's not waver </b>
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Afzal must keep date with hangman
A t a time when countries around the world that abolished capital punishment to flaunt post-War liberal values are desperately seeking ways and means to mete out deterrent punishment to terrorists, it is amazing that we should be witnessing a spurious debate on whether Mohammed Afzal Guru, the mastermind behind the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament House, should be hanged for committing an unpardonable crime against the nation. While it is expected of professional human rights activists looking for self-publicity to plead the case for social malcontents who deserve to be put down without the slightest trace of remorse, it is shocking that politicians of a particular tribe should try to slyly convert a court-ordained punishment for a despicable act into a communal issue. The raucous demand that the state should pardon Mohammed Afzal Guru voiced by politicians in Jammu & Kashmir, following the sinister threat held out by separatists that if this man is sent to the gallows there shall be widespread violence, neither does justice to those who died in the attack on Parliament House nor does it strengthen India's fight against terrorism. Worse, it only shows how tenuous is their commitment to the republican ideals of democratic India; conversely, it also demonstrates their proclivity to trade national interest for a fistful of votes. It is against the backdrop of such cynical politics that we must view the mercy petition submitted by the wife and brother of Mohammed Afzal Guru for a presidential pardon. There is no cause for surprise that the man sentenced to death has refused to append his signature to the petition: Like all true jihadis, he believes that terrorism fetches glory to his faith; and, that there is greater glory in becoming a 'martyr' to the cause. He is welcome to his warped notions, and they need not distract us from the fundamental point - he has committed a heinous crime and must pay for it with his life. Nothing less than that shall suffice the cause of justice as well as sending out a clear, unambiguous message to other members of his ilk.
The President has forwarded the mercy petition to the Union Government, which, in turn, has begun consultations with the Delhi Government. The gravity of the crime demands that the petition should be rejected with the contempt it deserves. To even waste time and effort on considering the merits of the appeal would be tantamount to heaping insult on the memory of those who sacrificed their lives defending the very symbol of democracy in India. There is no dispute over the judgement; indeed, even Mohammed Afzal Guru's accomplice who escaped the noose has acknowledged that the man is guilty. Unless the Government rejects the mercy petition immediately so that Mohammed Afzal Guru can keep his date with the hangman, all the wrong signals will go out - to jihadis and their masters in Pakistan. Contrary to what is being claimed, allowing him to live for a day longer than October 20 would strengthen the hands that toil to destroy our nation. In the past, the Government has shown commendable determination by refusing to be swayed by lib-left mumbo-jumbo and despatching killers like Billa, Ranga, Maqbool Butt, Harjinder Singh 'Jinda' and Sukhdev Singh 'Sukha', apart from those involved in Mrs Indira Gandhi's assassination and perverts like Dhananjoy Chatterjee, to the other world. If, by any chance, it is unable to summon equal determination this time, let it draw inspiration from another execution - that of Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, who killed two CIA staff outside the agency's headquarters. In due deference to Pakistani sentiments, the Americans shipped his body home
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
The Pioneer Edit Desk
Afzal must keep date with hangman
A t a time when countries around the world that abolished capital punishment to flaunt post-War liberal values are desperately seeking ways and means to mete out deterrent punishment to terrorists, it is amazing that we should be witnessing a spurious debate on whether Mohammed Afzal Guru, the mastermind behind the December 13, 2001 attack on Parliament House, should be hanged for committing an unpardonable crime against the nation. While it is expected of professional human rights activists looking for self-publicity to plead the case for social malcontents who deserve to be put down without the slightest trace of remorse, it is shocking that politicians of a particular tribe should try to slyly convert a court-ordained punishment for a despicable act into a communal issue. The raucous demand that the state should pardon Mohammed Afzal Guru voiced by politicians in Jammu & Kashmir, following the sinister threat held out by separatists that if this man is sent to the gallows there shall be widespread violence, neither does justice to those who died in the attack on Parliament House nor does it strengthen India's fight against terrorism. Worse, it only shows how tenuous is their commitment to the republican ideals of democratic India; conversely, it also demonstrates their proclivity to trade national interest for a fistful of votes. It is against the backdrop of such cynical politics that we must view the mercy petition submitted by the wife and brother of Mohammed Afzal Guru for a presidential pardon. There is no cause for surprise that the man sentenced to death has refused to append his signature to the petition: Like all true jihadis, he believes that terrorism fetches glory to his faith; and, that there is greater glory in becoming a 'martyr' to the cause. He is welcome to his warped notions, and they need not distract us from the fundamental point - he has committed a heinous crime and must pay for it with his life. Nothing less than that shall suffice the cause of justice as well as sending out a clear, unambiguous message to other members of his ilk.
The President has forwarded the mercy petition to the Union Government, which, in turn, has begun consultations with the Delhi Government. The gravity of the crime demands that the petition should be rejected with the contempt it deserves. To even waste time and effort on considering the merits of the appeal would be tantamount to heaping insult on the memory of those who sacrificed their lives defending the very symbol of democracy in India. There is no dispute over the judgement; indeed, even Mohammed Afzal Guru's accomplice who escaped the noose has acknowledged that the man is guilty. Unless the Government rejects the mercy petition immediately so that Mohammed Afzal Guru can keep his date with the hangman, all the wrong signals will go out - to jihadis and their masters in Pakistan. Contrary to what is being claimed, allowing him to live for a day longer than October 20 would strengthen the hands that toil to destroy our nation. In the past, the Government has shown commendable determination by refusing to be swayed by lib-left mumbo-jumbo and despatching killers like Billa, Ranga, Maqbool Butt, Harjinder Singh 'Jinda' and Sukhdev Singh 'Sukha', apart from those involved in Mrs Indira Gandhi's assassination and perverts like Dhananjoy Chatterjee, to the other world. If, by any chance, it is unable to summon equal determination this time, let it draw inspiration from another execution - that of Mir Aimal Kansi, a Pakistani, who killed two CIA staff outside the agency's headquarters. In due deference to Pakistani sentiments, the Americans shipped his body home
<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->