NEW DELHI: A foreign news agency story headlined 'Mumbai attacks gunman Ajmal Kasab hanged' drew over 150 comments by 7pm on Wednesday on the web site of prominent Pakistan daily Dawn. Interestingly, several of the comments were posted by Indians, or so they claimed. Most, cutting across borders, appeared to be on the same page on the hanging. Many felt a terrorist deserved the harshest punishment.
One Maulana Arshad Khan posted the following comment, "All terrorists must face the same treatment whether in Pakistan or India. The world is for peace. No religion teaches terrorism. It is a few dirty-minded individuals who enjoy killing innocent people. Such people must be hanged in public view. All Pakistanis should expose terror minds living in Pakistan soil." It got 91 approvals and only one disapproval, till 7pm.
Another comment by one Divya drew a huge response. She wrote, "This is sad and tragic, to be very honest! Kasab was just a misguided young boy who never got an opportunity to have education, never got an opportunity to live life with dignity. Worst is, the country, the land, the people he fought and died for, didn't even acknowledge his being, didn't mourn his death and didn't even bother to give him a burial. Instead, the land he waged the war against, gave him a place to rest in peace, forever! I am proud of my country, I am proud of India, at least we're human!" It got 209 thumbs-up and 25 thumbs-down.
Several comments were anti-Kasab, prompting one Mohit to write, "I must say of course after reading the comments here, terrorists are not supported by Pakistani mass. Good for subcontinent. Kasab got what he deserved."
On most Pakistani news sites, the Quetta blast that killed five got a more prominent display. On The News International web site, the hanging did not even feature among the five hot topics of the day, at 4.30pm.
The home page had only one story—Pakistan ignored message on Kasab's execution. It was the seventh most viewed story on The Nation site.
The web site of Frontier Post, published from Peshwar, highlighted the comments made by LeT and Tehrik-i-Taliban. A local Taliban spokesperson had said, "There is no doubt that it's very shocking news and a big loss that a Muslim has been hanged on Indian soil."
An article by Gardiner Harris put out on The New York Times web site said analysts in both India and Pakistan are of the view that it was unlikely to derail improving ties. The report quoted Tariq Fatemi, a retired Pakistani senior diplomat, saying some extremist groups would be angered by the hanging but that many other Pakistanis, including senior government officials, had been "deeply embarrassed" by Kasab and the Mumbai attacks. Fatemi further said, "There is a virtual consensus among Pakistan's mainstream political parties on the importance of keeping the process on the rails and even promoting it."
A Washington Post article quoted Meenakshi Ganguly, south Asia director of Human Rights Watch, as saying, "The hanging of Ajmal Kasab marks a concerning end to the country's moratorium on capital punishment. Instead of resorting to the use of execution to address heinous crime, India should join the rising ranks of nations that have taken the decision to remove the death penalty from their legal frameworks."
Kasab execution: Mostly ‘thumbs-up’ on foreign sites
This article
Kasab execution: Mostly ‘thumbs-up’ on foreign sites
can be opened in url
http://newsobtain.blogspot.com/2012/11/kasab-execution-mostly-thumbs-up-on.html
Kasab execution: Mostly ‘thumbs-up’ on foreign sites
