I plan to write a follow up to my previous blog titled Pakistan Today to answer some of the comments that were made but I am not sure when I would have time for that. In the mean while another event captured my attention watching the 'reliable and independent' Pakistani news channels.
An Indian national Kashmir Singh convicted 35 years ago on espionage charges was released by the Pakistan government and was sent back to India he remained on death row for most of this time and was eventually spotted by a 'Caretaker' Federal Minister Ansar Burney and his mercy appeal was granted by the President.
The whole news has a general feel good factor and might even warm some hearts but before we go any further there are some key issues underlying this event which was blown out of proportion by the Pakistani media as always.
The most disturbing part to me was Mr. Ansar Burney's conduct throughout this event, and I have no hesitation in saying that I had respect for his work for human rights until yesterday. When he took the office of Caretaker Federal Minister for Human Rights we all thought that it was inappropriate keeping in mind Musharraf's track record on human rights but in his defense he had more resources to do his work, which is an acceptable argument to some extent. But during the Kashmir Singh event he came on the media and emphasized himself as the following:
- someone who has been working for humanity all his life,
- an angel who appeared in Kashmir Singh's dream,
- a Federal minister who carried an Indian prisoner in his vehicle to Wagah border.
He completely ignored the fact Kashmir Singh was not only accused but was 'convicted' of a crime against Pakistan. There were reasons why Singh was not executed but by r
eleasing him Burney and Musharraf (needless to mention him) once again made a mockery of our legal system (Musharraf did that once before when a convicted Ex-Prime Minister was allowed to go to Jeddah without serving his sentence). It would have been understandable if there was an agreement for exchange of prisoners between the two countries or if the released prisoners were innocent fishermen who were captured in open sea inadvertently entering Pakistan, but Singh was convicted on espionage charges.
President Musharraf has not granted any mercy plea in the past except for two. The first being granted to Mr. Tahir Hussain a British National who was accused of murdering a taxi driver during his trip to Pakistan in 1989, his case was an entirely different issue but even that decision was made under pressure from the British government. Although the right decision might have been made in Hussain's case. On the other hand, Kashmir Singh was a spy and fully understood the implications of his engagement, unless the government wants to admit that his conviction was wrong and it was miscarriage of justice by the Military Court.
It must also be noted that during past 9 years hundreds of Pakistanis were sentenced to death and as a standard procedure mercy appeals were filed for most cases but none were granted by the President. And once again it is needless to add that these were poor Pakistanis with no social or economic significance, people who have no human rights.
An Indian national Kashmir Singh convicted 35 years ago on espionage charges was released by the Pakistan government and was sent back to India he remained on death row for most of this time and was eventually spotted by a 'Caretaker' Federal Minister Ansar Burney and his mercy appeal was granted by the President.
The whole news has a general feel good factor and might even warm some hearts but before we go any further there are some key issues underlying this event which was blown out of proportion by the Pakistani media as always.
The most disturbing part to me was Mr. Ansar Burney's conduct throughout this event, and I have no hesitation in saying that I had respect for his work for human rights until yesterday. When he took the office of Caretaker Federal Minister for Human Rights we all thought that it was inappropriate keeping in mind Musharraf's track record on human rights but in his defense he had more resources to do his work, which is an acceptable argument to some extent. But during the Kashmir Singh event he came on the media and emphasized himself as the following:
- someone who has been working for humanity all his life,
- an angel who appeared in Kashmir Singh's dream,
- a Federal minister who carried an Indian prisoner in his vehicle to Wagah border.
He completely ignored the fact Kashmir Singh was not only accused but was 'convicted' of a crime against Pakistan. There were reasons why Singh was not executed but by r
eleasing him Burney and Musharraf (needless to mention him) once again made a mockery of our legal system (Musharraf did that once before when a convicted Ex-Prime Minister was allowed to go to Jeddah without serving his sentence). It would have been understandable if there was an agreement for exchange of prisoners between the two countries or if the released prisoners were innocent fishermen who were captured in open sea inadvertently entering Pakistan, but Singh was convicted on espionage charges.President Musharraf has not granted any mercy plea in the past except for two. The first being granted to Mr. Tahir Hussain a British National who was accused of murdering a taxi driver during his trip to Pakistan in 1989, his case was an entirely different issue but even that decision was made under pressure from the British government. Although the right decision might have been made in Hussain's case. On the other hand, Kashmir Singh was a spy and fully understood the implications of his engagement, unless the government wants to admit that his conviction was wrong and it was miscarriage of justice by the Military Court.
It must also be noted that during past 9 years hundreds of Pakistanis were sentenced to death and as a standard procedure mercy appeals were filed for most cases but none were granted by the President. And once again it is needless to add that these were poor Pakistanis with no social or economic significance, people who have no human rights.
At the same time Burney was unable to notice that 7 Judges of the Supreme Court and their families have been detained against their will by the government but apparently they have no human rights? After being criticized openly in the media today he has written letters to a couple of Ministries about the Chief Justice asking them if the CJ is detained, but that does not count as an effort, because the whole world including himself knows that the CJ and other Judges are under house arrest since November 3, 2007 so he can not absolve himself of all responsibility by simply writing a letter because he has been in office for more than two months now.
Burney is also unable to see that hundreds of Pakistanis have gone missing in the past 8 years and the government has not taken any responsibility for them, their families have been brutally abused by the police on the streets, but apparently they have no human rights either!!
Burney is blind to the fact that Dr. Abdul Qadeer Khan who is considered a hero by most Pakistanis has been detained for the past 3 years, what about his human rights ??
Can Burney guarantee that there are no innocent Pakistanis detained in the jails and police stations in Pakistan? Obviously not, then why is Kashmir Singh more important than Pakistanis who have not committed a crime against the State?
Can Burney objectively come up with a number for Pakistanis imprisoned in India?
Pakistanis were pained to watch Burney on the Wagah border basking in the glory of his own narcissistic madness playing the incapable ring master of the media circus created by poor quality journalism, ranting that he is a FEDERAL MINISTER (he never used the word caretaker), an ANGEL, a SAVIOUR, !!
Well, my opinion of Burney is very different and I would not use any of the words used above to describe him. It was interesting that Angel Burney was denied entry to India and he was asked to stay on the Pakistani side, which was unfair because the Indian media could have taken better pictures of him if he was closer to them. It was almost funny that Kashmir Singh was sold to the Pakistani audience as someone who had accepted Islam and had renamed himself as 'Ibrahim' and guess what the first thing he did after being released was visiting a Sikh temple. It has been noted that Burney is now turning to Sarbajit Singh another Indian prisoner. Burney needs to hurry up because as soon as the next government comes in he would not have direct access to the President (whoever that might be!!).
The attention seeking Burney very effectively managed to hog the media spot light in the subcontinent for a day but he must have been unhappy with the suicide attacks on the Naval college in Lahore because that stole some of his airtime. I am sure Burney would be ashamed of himself if he ever snaps out of this madness, he has the infrastructure in place and I wish he would start focusing on actual human rights issues rather than chasing 'some' coveted peace prize and thinking of tricks to attract attention. I don't think it is too late for Burney if he decides to genuinely work for human rights and give up his egotisitic obsession I would be more than happy to change my opinion of him.
