Quid Pro Quo?

Kudos to Mr Home Minister. Its yet another time he has created confusion, probably stirred up a controversy, Thanks to prime accused in the Parliament attack case ,Mohammad Afzal. I have never felt Shivraj Patil to be an able administrator especially considering the nature and importance of his post and his statements without regard for consequences. There is certainly no clarity of articulation in his statements. 

Even though I am not qualified enough to assess whether our Home Minister Shivraj Patil is competent enough to be one , what I can tell you is equating Sarabjit Singh and Afzal Guru is height of stupidity. 

Considering the nature of the case of Afzal, which has had  to be handled with utmost delicacy, Mr Home minister has created unwarranted confusion .This is the last word I could say, especially when foreign ministers of India and Pakistan are on the table discussing foreign policy. 

Afzal guru was found guilty on 2001 parliament attack case and also his death sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. The supreme court had clearly held Afzal to be the prime conspirator behind the Parliament Attack case. Also Afzal is an Indian National . I really cannot understand where is the need for the home minister to compare Sarabjit and Afzal. 

Sarabjit Singh has been accused of espionage and terrorism. Though the case of Sarabjit Singh might be a case of mistaken identity,  as reported by the Pakistan Human Rights Commission, there could be no denial of his involvement in espionage. Whether he is a spy or saboteur is really not known.  The Indian Government has no locus standi on this issue. Mind that the Indian Government is appealing to Pakistan only on Humanitarian grounds. 

There are thousand others languishing in the Pakistan jails with similar other charges. Sarabjit is one such case The appeal of the Indian government has certainly given its Pakistani counterpart a bargaining chip against India. The thing we need to ask ourselves whether we are making mountain of a molehill. Its certainly not quid pro quo when it comes to national interest. Terrorist are terrorists and needs to crushed keeping in mind the national interest. 

Coming to the point, there are more serious issues about the terrorism that needs  to be addressed. There is a growing incidence of naxal violence across the country, growing terrorist presence. There is a need for changes in the policy in dealing with terrorist. Case such as that of Afzal, Bombay blasts and the jaipur blasts have highlighted its need  to address the loopholes in the system and its need to be addressed. 

When such serious issues are present, it is quite unwarranted on the part of home minister to cook up a controversy comparing sarabjit and afzal. He has to remember that his views are the policy of the government and needs to act responsibly.