From Pakistan, a chorus of voices from a cross section of society gave varied reactions to the 'Hang Qasab' verdict delivered yesterday by the special court that conducted the trial in the 26/11 terror case.
 
Asma Jehangir, Chairperson, Human Rights Commission, Pakistan: Whether it is India or Pakistan or elsewhere in the world, we are against the death penalty.

There is no connection between crime and the death penalty. We have been fighting the case of Sarabjeet since we believe that the death penalty is not the right punishment.

The Pakistan Human Rights Commission will not appeal against the court verdict given in India since we have no authority to do so."

An official from the press section of the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi: We're awaiting a response from the Pakistan government. The embassy won't comment on the issue until the Pakistan government's authorised spokesperson is assigned to speak to the media over the same.

Zaman Khan, human rights activist from Lahore: I am unable to comment on this delicate issue. All I can say is we are against terrorism. At the same time, the Pakistan Human Rights Commission advocates abolition of the death sentence all over the world.

Hassan Muhammad Shinwari, advocate from the North-West Frontier Province, Pakistan: I cannot say whether or not Qasab's conviction is justified. Qasab should use his fundamental right to go in appeal in the Supreme Court of India. As for the aam janta in Pakistan, I have not seen any reaction on the streets.

Tauqeer Bukhari, advocate based in Islamabad: Although I am not well aware of the judgment passed against Qasab, I feel a person should be punished if she/he is guilty. Unless one goes through the contents of the judgment order, it would be difficult to comment on the  same.
 

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The police have arrested three suspects ” Amol Navin Jagtap (19), Rakesh Ashok Deshmukh (19) and  Ankush Jyotiram Pawar (21)  in connection with the murder of Rahul Nayar (24) was killed with sharp weapons at the Shivajinagar court premises when he was there for a hearing in a murder case involving two rival groups.

 
Nayar, a member of the Dangat group, was allegedly killed by the rival Shaikh group.

The enmity between the Dangat and the Rahil Ismail Shaikh groups goes back to the time when Kumar Chandrakant Dangat was murdered in August 2008, allegedly by the Shaikhs over an affair between him and a member of the Shaikh family.

Yesterday, when members of both gangs were at the court, Advocate Rekha Nishant Karande was the first to be allegedly assaulted by the Shaikh gang. 

Karande, who is the sister of Kumar Dangat and a prosecutor in the case, said, "I saw the gang members approaching and told this to some constables but they left as soon as they saw the mob."

The assault on Karande developed into a full-blown fight between rival gang members, and Nayar was grievously wounded. He was admitted to Sassoon hospital, but died. A case was registered against seven suspects at the Shivajinagar police station.

Eyewitnesses said the Shaikhs started abusing a witness in the court case after it was adjourned. They said five women along with other Shaikh gang members went inside the new building of the court and manhandled Karande. When the Dangats reacted, Nayar was attacked with sharp weapons.
 

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Activists and nurses allege that doctor hid patient's HIV status from staff

In a dramatic turn of events at Pune Cantonment Board general hospital, a legal battle has started between activists supported by the nursing staff and a doctor of the hospital backed by the administration. The doctor had treated an HIV patient at Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Hospital without informing the staff.

On April 24, gynaecologist Dr Archana Gupta carried out an emergency operation on a four-and-a-half-month pregnant patient Sheetal Waikar (name withheld to protect identity), who had a miscarriage in the process. Waikar, who was brought to the hospital in an emergency situation with pain and bleeding by Dr Gupta, later tested positive for HIV.

In a complaint filed independently with the commissioner's office, a few local political activists have alleged that Gupta knew of the patient's HIV status but hid it from the staffers. They also alleged that the foetus was missing as the patient's husband had taken it away.

In the complaint, they also mentioned that since it was a girl child, Waikar had come for an abortion. Staffers informed the activists that the foetus was beyond 20 weeks and it was illegal to carry out an abortion.

 "The foetus was within 18 weeks and was not taken away by the father. Our complaint is that the doctor deliberately tried to hide the patients HIV positive status and put employees at a risk of infection," said a senior nurse on condition of anonymity. She said that the private lab conducting pre-delivery tests was instructed not to conduct HIV tests on Waikar even when it is a mandatory procedure.

Dr Gupta said that allegations against her were incited by staffers who discriminate against HIV patients.
"I asked the clinic to do only essential tests as she was poor and I wanted to save her money. No medical code says that an HIV test is compulsory during emergency. Every patient is entitled to treatment," said Gupta.
According to her, Waikar got admitted at 1:30 pm and delivered a foetus of 18 weeks weighing roughly 300 gms.

Resident medical officer Dr S M Mahajan supported Gupta. "The case papers show that the woman came in an emergency so it wasn't a case of abortion. The foetus was within 18 weeks and the dead foetus was disposed in routine manner by hospital staffers," said Mahajan.

When inquired about the police case, he too alleged that a few staffers of the hospital were doing this, as they didn't like to handle HIV patients at hospital.
 

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High Commissioner to India takes off from movie screening after being questioned about the Karachi kid

Even after being awarded the death sentence, Ajmal Amir Qasab remains a hot potato; especially, it seems, for 
Camera shy? Shahid Malik
 
diplomats from across the border.

On Thursday, Shahid Malik, Pakistan's high commissioner to India, virtually dashed off from the screening of a documentary on the Pakistan army after being surrounded by meidapersons. The movie, which has been produced by an Indian journalist and documentary maker Rohit Gandhi, boasts about depicting the reality of Taliban infested areas in Pakistan. The event was organised at the India International Centre (IIC) in central Delhi.

"Today was the screening of the movie and though there was an open entry for everyone, some very well known people had arrived to attend the show as well. Pakistan's high commissioner Shahid Malik -- the chief guest of the screening -- arrived along with Pakistan's defence attach © Brigadier Mohammad Iqbal," said an official of IIC.

Malik arrived almost 20 minutes before the screening and was seen interacting with the people. Though his mobile phone kept him busy, he looked a bit irritated and tense. Brigadier Iqbal, meanwhile, preferred to keep a low profile and kept waiting for the screening to begin.

Just before the movie was to be played Malik went to the dais and delivered a small speech, which was meant to portray Pakistan as one of the first victims of international terror. "Pakistan has always been against any kind of terrorist activity but there is a perception that we joined the fight only after 9/11," he said addressing the gathering.

Just before Malik could finish his speech a group of media personalities armed with note pads and mikes entered the main auditorium. But they were caught by surprise when Malik suddenly decided to leave the screening just after the documentary began playing. He completely refused to respond to the queries of the scribes who followed him out of the auditorium. "I don't want to talk about it, I have nothing to say," were the only words Malik uttered.

Soon he was seen leaving IIC in his official car with blue number plate. Brigadier Iqbal attended the entire show, engulfed in the darkness of the auditorium. 
 

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After MiD DAY's clarion call for a hangman yesterday, four people, from a 25-yr-old victim to a 106-yr-old Gandhian, have come forward for the job

'I can kill him with my  bare hands'

Name: Prakash Lalwani (74)
Height: 5'11"

Profile: Lalwani was one of the youngest active participants in the Freedom Movement and worked as a messenger boy for the freedom fighters at the age of 11.

Reasons: "For me, Qasab is an embodiment of evil and is an even greater enemy of the country than General Dyer, who shot down so many innocent people in Jallianwala Bagh. I don't need a rope to kill Qasab, I can kill him with my bare hands. If the Government gives me a chance, I can even prove that I am more skilled than Qasab by killing him in an encounter."

'26/11 cost me my job'

Name: Sanjay Kathar (25)
Height: 5'11"

Profile: Kathar was working at a call centre and was up for a promotion when the 26/11 attack took place. The Colaba resident sustained injuries from a grenade attack carried out at Nariman House by Qasab's accomplices.

He is currently unemployed and his younger brother has the onus of supporting the family of five. 

Reasons: "Despite my family obligations, I had to leave my job because of the injuries. Even though Qasab wasn't directly responsible for my condition, left to me, I would have cut him up into pieces. Nothing can reverse the bad times I've had because of that one day."

'I am ready to do the holy job'

Name: CHB Vitthaldas (106)
Height: 5'8"

Profile: Vitthaldas, a staunch Gandhian, participated in satyagrahas in Goa, Hyderabad and Nizamabad. He met Mahatma Gandhi at Jinnah House in 1938 and was later inspired to join the freedom struggle.

Reasons: "At 106, I am definitely no longer very young to fight terror, but it really pained me to see innocent people dying at the hands of Qasab and his accomplices. I want all terrorists to be hanged and, if there is no one to hang Qasab, I am ready to do the holy job. There's something wrong with our system ” if sheer will power could get us our independence, why can't we tackle a relatively small problem like terror?"

'I will be the luckiest man alive'

Name: Santosh Dattaram Veer (34)
Height: 5'7"

Profile: Veer is a fish merchant and was present near Nariman House when terrorists started lobbing grenades there on 26/11. One of his friends, Harish Goyal, lost his life that day, while four others were critically injured.

Reasons: "I will consider myself the luckiest man alive if I get the opportunity to hang Qasab. I still remember that fateful night when Harish was killed in the attack at Nariman House and, as a Mumbaikar and an Indian, I will be proud to get the holy job." 
 

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Pakistani terrorist Ajmal Kasab, 22, broke down in court when the 26/11 trial court awarded him the death sentence on four counts on Thursday. He has also been given a life term on five counts. Kasab has been found guilty of murdering seven people, helping murder 159 others and waging war against India during a 62-hour siege beginning November 26, 2008.

While announcing the sentence, the judge ML Tahiliyani said words could not describe the brutality of the 26/11 attack. "This man has lost the right of getting humanitarian benefit," the judge said. He said that there would no chance that Kasab would reform and that there was no option but to give the death penalty. He observed that undue sympathy would do harm and leniency could not be shown.

Judge Tahiliyani also said this was a case of "exceptional depravity" and rubbished that he was influenced by the Lashkar e Taiba (LeT). He said Kasab had voluntarily joined the LeT and was under no duress to do so.

The man, who had held his nerves through it all, broke down as he was sentenced to death. Tears rolled down Kasab's face and the judge instructed that he be taken out for a drink of water. The security at once said that the water should not be served in a metal container as he might try to harm himself.  When he was asked if he had anything to say, Kasab mutely shook his head to say, no.

The death penalty will not be implemented immediately.  Kasab has the option of appealing to higher courts, and can also file a mercy petition for the consideration of President Pratibha Patil. 

The terrorist was pronounced guilty on Monday and the prosecution and defence ended their arguments on quantum of sentence on Tuesday. While the prosecution argued for the death sentence, Kasab's lawyer appealed for leniency on the grounds that he's just 22 years old. 

On Tuesday, the public prosecutor, Ujjwal Nikam, attacked Kasab for two hours, describing him as "worse than a wild beast... Kasab is a killing machine... and the orders for this machine came from Pakistan."

On both Monday and Tuesday, Kasab was dressed in a white kurta-pyjama, was unshaven, and kept his head bowed throughout Nikam's arguments.  Kasab was found guilty on more than 80 of the 86 charges brought against him for planning and executing the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
Nikam laid out eight arguments on why Kasab deserves to be hanged, among them, that the 26/11 attacks was meticulously planned and that policemen and defenceless civilians were "mercilessly butchered."  The prosecutor also argued that Kasab wanted to inspire others to take part in fidayeen or suicide attacks.

As an example of why Kasab should get the death penalty, Nikam said that the terrorist had expressed disappointment that he landed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) after rush hour on 26/11/2008.  Kasab had anticipated a busier station, based on CDs he had been shown of CST before the attack,  Nikam said.  The prosecutor also said that in his confession to the Mumbai police, Kasab said that he was upset that he could not kill more people at the station. At CST, Kasab killed close to 60 people in an hour with his partner, Abu Ismail.

Photographs taken by newspaper photographers of Kasab, taken in action while firing at CST's passengers and shopkeepers,  showed that "he enjoyed the acts of murder," said Nikam. The terrorist "was happy to see people in pain and anguish as a result of his firing," the prosecutor stressed.

Kasab's lawyer, KP Pawar, pleaded with the court to consider a life sentence instead.  Kasab was only 21 when he participated in the attack against Mumbai, and he acted under the influence of terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), he pleaded. 
 

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Madan Laxmandas Tahiliyani, the judge who sent Ajmal Kasab to gallows, is versatile in both criminal and civil laws, an experience that came in handy during many a tricky moment during the Mumbai terror attack trial.
    
In a career spanning 23 years, Tahiliyani, a Sindhi from Gondia district of Maharashtra, has earned a reputation of being both tough and fair.
    
As the judge in the 26/11 trial, Tahaliyani kept a close watch on the lone surviving gunman in the Mumbai attack who is known to have had mood swings ever since the trial began in mid-April last year.
   
The judge used a combination of tact and wit to ensure that the decorum of the court is always maintained, even during tense moments like when Kasab got up to admit his guilt.
    
His experience in criminal and civil laws came in handy during tricky moments in the trial-like when a lawyer had to be appointed for Kasab or when the gunman pleaded that he was a minor or when he pleaded guilty in court.
     
He has presided over other high profile cases too like the murder case of music baron Gulshan Kumar but he shot into limelight since he presided over the Mumbai attack trial.
     
Tahaliyani began his career in 1987 when he was appointed a metropolitan magistrate in a Bandra court and was appointed as Additional Sessions judge in the Mumbai Sessions Court in 1997.
     
He was promoted as a judge in the city's civil and sessions court in early 2000 prior to taking up his assignment in the high court as Registrar (inspection). He was appointed as a judge in the 26/11 trial in 2009.
     
He was also posted as a special judge to handle CBI cases.
     
Tahaliyani also presided over the trial in the murder of trade union leader Datta Samant, who was gunned down in 1997 by members of the Chhota Rajan gang.  
 

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American officials said on Wednesday that it was very likely that a radical group once thought unable to attack the United States had played a role in the bombing attempt in Times Square, elevating concerns about whether other militant groups could deliver at least a glancing blow on American soil.

Officials said that after two days of intense questioning of the bombing suspect, Faisal Shahzad, evidence was mounting that the group, the Pakistani Taliban, had helped inspire and train Mr. Shahzad in the months before he is alleged to have parked an explosives-filled sport utility vehicle in a busy Manhattan intersection on Saturday night. Officials said Mr. Shahzad had discussed his contacts with the group, and investigators had accumulated other evidence that they would not disclose.

On Wednesday, Mr. Shahzad, the 30-year-old son of a retired senior Pakistani Air Force officer, waived his right to a speedy arraignment, a possible sign of his continuing cooperation with investigators. (Read: Faisal Shahzad: From suburban father to terror suspect)

As his interrogation continued, Department of Homeland Security officials directed airlines to speed up their checks of new names added to the no-fly list, a requirement that might have prevented Mr. Shahzad from boarding a flight to Dubai on Monday night before his arrest at Kennedy International Airport. (Read: Shahzad waives right to arraignment)

The failed attack has produced a flurry of other proposals to tighten security procedures, including calls by members of Congress to more closely scrutinize passengers who buy tickets with cash, as Mr. Shahzad did. Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, independent of Connecticut, and Senator Scott Brown, Republican of Massachusetts, proposed stripping terrorism suspects of American citizenship, and Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg asked Congress to block the sale of firearms and explosives to those on terrorist watch lists.

American officials, speaking about the continuing inquiry only on condition of anonymity, gave few details about what Mr. Shahzad had told investigators, and said their understanding of the plot would evolve as a dragnet spanning two continents gathered more evidence.

One senior Obama administration official cautioned that "there are no smoking guns yet" that the Pakistani Taliban had directed the Times Square bombing. But others said that there were strong indications that Mr. Shahzad knew some members of the group and that they probably had a role in training him.

In a video on Sunday, the Pakistani Taliban claimed responsibility for the attempted bombing.

One issue that investigators are vigorously pursuing is who provided Mr. Shahzad cash to buy the SUV and his plane ticket to Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates. "Somebody's financially sponsoring him, and that's the link we're pursuing," one official said. "And that would take you on the logic train back to Pak-Taliban authorizations," the official said, referring to the group.

American officials said it had become increasingly difficult to separate the operations of the militant groups in Pakistan's tribal areas. The region, they said, has become a stew of like-minded organizations plotting attacks in Pakistani cities, across the border into Afghanistan, and on targets in Western Europe and the United States.

Besides the Pakistani Taliban and Al Qaida, groups operating in the tribal areas are the Haqqani Network and the Kashmiri groups Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Muhammad.

There is no doubt among intelligence officials that the barrage of attacks by CIA drones over the past year has made Pakistan's Taliban, which goes by the name Tehrik-i-Taliban, increasingly determined to seek revenge by finding any way possible to strike at the United States.

The CIA's drone program in Pakistan, which was accelerated in 2008 and expanded by President Obama last year, has enjoyed strong bipartisan support in Washington in part because it was perceived as eliminating dangerous militants while keeping Americans safe.

But the attack in December on a CIA base in Afghanistan, and now possibly the failed SUV attack in Manhattan, are reminders that the drones' very success may be provoking a costly response.

Last March, when the Pakistani Taliban leader Baitullah Mehsud boasted that his group was planning an attack on Washington that would "amaze everyone in the world," many American officials dismissed his claims as empty bravado. His network, they said, had neither the resources nor the reach to pull off an attack far beyond its base in the mountains of western Pakistan.

But the attempted attack on Saturday has forced something of a reassessment, especially as American officials see militant groups determined to score a propaganda victory by pulling off even the crudest of attacks.

If the Pakistani Taliban was involved in the Times Square bombing plot, the organization is only the latest militant group to expand beyond a local political agenda and strike the United States. The Christmas Day attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound airliner, for instance, was traced to Al Qaida in the Arabian Peninsula, whose primary targets had previously been the Saudi and Yemeni governments.

But for such a group, trying for the biggest prize in the jihadist universe -- a successful attack on American soil -- could have significant payoffs, said Bruce Hoffman, a terrorism expert at Georgetown University.

The message may be, " 'The US is pounding us with drone attacks, but we're powerful enough to strike back'; it's certainly enough to attract ever more recruits to replace those they're losing," Mr. Hoffman said.

The Pakistani Taliban has used a relentless campaign of violence to undermine Pakistan's secular government. The group has been blamed for the assassination of former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, as well as bombings in Islamabad, Lahore and elsewhere.
 
As casualties from the Taliban mounted in Pakistan in 2008, officials there pleaded with Washington to begin striking the group with CIA drones. American counterterrorism officials had never considered the group to be a top priority, but last year the Obama administration approved targeted attacks on Pakistani Taliban leaders, in part to win Islamabad's tacit approval for drone strikes elsewhere in the tribal areas. Mr. Mehsud himself was killed in a CIA drone attack in August.

Some American officials bristled at the idea that the United States had not taken the Pakistani Taliban threat seriously.

"We've been pounding their leadership, including figures like Baitullah Mehsud, and their training camps and other facilities," one American counterterrorism official said. "Those actions have probably taken other people like Shahzad off the board."

Denis McDonough, the chief of staff for the National Security Council, said the Times Square attempted bombing showed that Pakistan and the United States faced a common enemy, calling it "a pretty stark reminder that the same collection of terrorists that are threatening them are threatening us."

The administration has been in intensive contact with the Pakistani government, delivering the message that "there are clear links to Pakistan and that we would fully expect them to do what they should do," the State Department spokesman, Philip J. Crowley, said. Pakistani officials have arrested about a dozen people they believe may be linked to the plot, the authorities have said.

On Wednesday, the American ambassador, Anne W. Patterson, met with Pakistan's president, Asif Ali Zardari, and Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi, and spoke by phone with the interior minister, A. Rehman Malik. The administration's special representative for Afghanistan and Pakistan, Richard C. Holbrooke, also spoke by phone with Mr. Qureshi.

"The key here is that we're touching the right bases politically, and we're getting the right signals back," a senior official said.

The tracking of Mr. Shahzad and his links to Pakistan began with a fortunate match of phone numbers, a law enforcement official speaking on condition of anonymity said Wednesday.

One number that he had provided when he last entered the United States, in February, was stored in a Customs and Border Protection database. It turned out to match a number on the list of calls to and from a prepaid cellphone that investigators knew belonged to the purchaser of the SUV found on Times Square.

Only when they matched the phone numbers did investigators learn "that that was the guy we were looking for," said the official, who requested anonymity to discuss the investigation.

The name match allowed security officials to discover Mr. Shahzad aboard the flight to Dubai minutes before takeoff on Monday night. He had been added to the no-fly list at 12:30 pm that day, when airlines were directed to check the list for updates. But Emirates airline did not look at the updated list, and sold Mr. Shahzad a ticket for cash at 7:35 pm on Monday.

Airlines had been required to check the no-fly list for updates only every 24 hours. The new rule requires that they check within two hours of receiving notification that a high-priority name has been added to the list, Homeland Security officials said.

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The Robert F. Kennedy Bridge was closed in all directions for several hours on Wednesday night and the Police Department's bomb squad was called in after a man abandoned a U-Haul truck that smelled of gasoline, the police said.

The driver, said to be carrying a white bag, fled the scene after getting out of the truck. The police had not found the man as of early Thursday, and were trying to determine why he stopped the U-Haul and ran away.

After the bomb squad bored into the truck, officials determined that there was no danger, and the bridge was expected to be reopened early Thursday.

The truck stopped about 9:40 p.m. as it was approaching the bridge's Manhattan-bound toll plaza, said Paul J. Browne, the chief police spokesman. The driver got out and ran in the direction of Queens, Mr. Browne said.

The truck approached the bridge, formerly known as the Triborough, from the direction of the Bronx, possibly via the Bruckner Expressway. Workers approached the truck as it sat abandoned about 100 yards north of the plaza, and as they approached, a strong smell of gasoline was evident, the police said.

Bomb squad technicians were called in and by about 11:30 were using X-ray equipment on the truck to try to determine its contents.

Francis X. Gribbon, a Fire Department spokesman, said the call about the truck came in just before 10 p.m. "We responded to a report of a fuel leak or odor of gas," he said.

The F.D.R. Drive remained opened but grew congested in Upper Manhattan
 

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Union Home Minister P Chidambaram met students at Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on Wednesday. JNU is traditionally a bastion of the Left, whom Chidambaram has often attacked.

While talking to students about growing Maoist insurgency, the minister found both support for the government's anti-Maoists policy and protest against its Operation Green Hunt.

"It is a law and order problem with socio-economic problem. The government is willing to relook at the mining contracts. I am the first minister in this government who said abjure violence, don't have to give up weapons...and that we are willing to talk," Chidambaram said while addressing the students.

Jawaharlal Nehru University is said to be home to some of those whom Chidambaram calls 'Maoist sympathizers'. Recently, the home minister has been under attack from the Opposition and sometimes from his own partymen about his Naxal policy. 

Outside the auditorium, Chidambaram met with protests from both ends of the spectrum.

Some students, mainly from the Left-backed parties shouted slogans against Operation Green Hunt, and others from the BJP's student wing ABVP protested that the minister was being soft on Maoists.
 
There were other protesters too, students of the university who just wanted to hear the Home Minister but were not allowed in by the organisers.

"We were not allowed to attend. There are 5000 students at JNU, only a 100 attended this event. Those from the NSUI were allowed in," said a student.
 
Some of those who did manage to listen to Chidambaram, thought his reasoning on the Naxal menace was sound.

"He said Naxals must abjure violence, the government is willing to talk to them," said an NSUI student. 
 

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