Ajmal Qasab’s hanging on Wednesday morning in Pune marks a milestone in the history of India’s judicial books. The operation, called Operation X, has indeed been successful but perhaps not been one of those pleasant ones to be rejoiced by everyone at large. This event spells out an articulate message to the world denouncing terrorism and violation of law and order in India by setting an example that would compel criminals to think several times before indulging in such gruesome adventures. India has ascertained the power of its judicial system by putting a closure to this case in a confidential, secret and swift fashion.

Despite that, I certainly do not advocate capital punishment especially in the case of Qasab considering his youth and unsound mental state (as proved by medical reports) when he executed the attack. I completely sympathize with the families of the victims for whom Qasab’s hanging brings incredible jubilance and a sense of consolation. His execution sends out a strong message across the world but I still uphold my belief that his death sentence could have been turned into life imprisonment acknowledging also the fact that he was not the mastermind behind the attack. The underhanded political intentions behind this event in terms of its timing and swiftness remain to be unveiled but what seems to pose a larger question is the resulting ties between India and Pakistan and their uptake on this event. Will Indo-Pak relations take yet another drastic new turn? — Rubab Fatima Rizvi, Dammam