Mumbai Attacker Convicted -- What It Means
"The guilty verdict handed down by a special court in Mumbai, India, today in the trial of Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone survivor of 10 terrorists who attacked targets in the city in late November 2008, is no surprise. Kasab was judged guilty not only of his role on the ground in the attack but also of plotting it. On the former count, the evidence against him in the murderous violence that took the lives of 166 people at different locations around the city was overwhelming. On the latter, less so. In fact, there is much evidence that Kasab was merely a foot soldier, a highly trained killing robot who took down his victims methodically with no hesitation, acting at the behest of handlers affiliated with the well known Pakistan-based terrorist group Lashkar e Taiba who remain at large in Pakistan The role of Pakistani-American David Coleman Headley, currently in U.S. custody, in scoping out targets in India for LET, and providing detailed reconnaissance information that aided in the Mumbai attack also appears extensive. In any case, the death penalty, which India admits, is expected for Kasab,” says Asia Society Associate Fellow Mira Kamdar. Mira is currently based in Paris, where she is a visiting professor at Sciences Po.
“The meeting between Indian Prime Minister Manmoham Singh and Pakistan’s Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani in Bhutan last week reiterated the need for eliminating the trust deficit that plagues relations between the two states. Pakistani media interpreted the meeting as a sign of revival of the comprehensive bilateral dialogue, whereas Indian media mostly analyzed the encounter in the context of Indian expectations that Pakistan will be swiftly moving against terrorists found involved in the Mumbai terror attack in November 2008,” says Asia Society Bernard Schwartz Fellow Hassan Abbas. “Today, an Indian court pronounced Ajmal Amir Kasab guilty of murder and waging war against India – an expected judgment given strong evidence. However, the court surprisingly acquitted two accused Indian accomplices. Many terrorism analysts believe that such a terror attack could not have been orchestrated without the help of some local elements. The sentencing phase is expected to be short, but the controversies associated with this barbaric attack are not going to go away anytime soon. Pakistan has arrested a few terrorists associated with the banned Lashkar e Taiba, a militant group that was deeply linked with the attack, but the prosecution process is unduly delayed. Pakistan must expedite the process to bring the terrorists to justice and make it politically easier for the Indian leadership to revive the peace process that has largely been frozen since the Mumbai attacks.” Hassan is in New York.
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