Kasab's Hometown Praise the Mumbai Killer's "Good intentions" Against Infidels

While some are praising the death sentence for the Mumbai killer Mohammed Ajmal Amir Kasab, others are not. But not for the usual moral or ethical reasons. For some, it isn't because they happen to be against the death penalty, it's because they actually condone what he did, or at least excuse it. People in Kasab's hometown of Faridkot in the Punjab province of Pakistan, are righteously indignant about Kasab's death sentence and are totally against executing him because they believe what he did was good.

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Mostly poor, uneducated farmers and labourers, they take offense not only to the fact that they consider India an 'infidel country', but the fact that two Indian suspects were acquitted of all charges.

"This is all against Pakistan. Ajmal is a child and he cannot commit this incident," said Muhammad Iqbal, a farmer in his late 50s. He was also angry at the acquittal of two Indian suspects.

"Why was there no equal sentence for all the culprits and why has only Ajmal been declared a criminal?"

His small group were defensive, even outraged. Around 10,000 people live in the town, most of them labourers and farmers, few of them literate.

"It is discriminatory and it would be better to hand him over to Pakistan," said another farmer, Muhammad Yasin, 46. "Neither should he be given the death sentence."

At one restaurant featuring a traditional tandoor oven, more than a dozen people sitting on benches and a large couch entered into a heated debate.

"This is wrong. India is biased," said Muhammd Akram, 33, a local farmer, in between sipping a cup of tea.

Although he had no answer to who was responsible for the militant attack that plunged Indian-Pakistani relations to new depths, he said Kasab should be released. "He has done nothing. He was wrongly involved in the attacks."

Of course, the usual response is denial. One of our own couldn't possibly be responsible for something of that magnitude. Then those denials are often followed by praise for the actions because they were against infidels, after all, and that's a good thing. Or there are the excuses of being brainwashed, everything but owning up to the fact that this young man (in collusion with others) was responsible for the massacre of over 100 innocent people. He was a terrorist and no manner of reasons can excuse what he did. But his people have gone through the usual gamut of denial and praise, and the "they deserved it" comments.

The previous day, a hawker in Faridkot distributed a weekly newspaper published by Jamaat-ud-Dawa, believed by Indian and US officials to be a front for the Lashkar-e-Taiba militant group blamed for the attacks.

"Are they talking about our Ajmal?" 45-year-old Noor Ahmed asked, interrupting fellow residents who were discussing the case.

"No. No. We don't know him," he said, sitting on a dirty couch in a small brick-and-clay room on the banks of the local canal.

"But we have sympathies for him being Muslim."

Some residents said Kasab, like other young men dragged into the shadowy underworld of militant Islam, should be seen as a pawn, brainwashed by powerful jihadi groups.

"Look, don't blame him. There is nothing wrong if he did it with good intentions against an infidel country like India," said Amjad Ali, a 60-year-old farmer with white hair.

"India is doing bomb blasts in Pakistan and it has also blocked Pakistan's water," he said -- echoing the belief of many in Pakistan that its arch-rival is behind suicide attacks in the country and siphoning off of water resources.

One student claimed Kasab was a childhood friend who was in a group that used to swim in Faridkot's polluted canal and liked to throw other boys into the water. He believes Kasab was brainwashed.

"Definitely, the (Mumbai) incident created a bad impression for Pakistan and especially Faridkot," the student said.

He called for the massacre's masterminds to be punished, and said it would be better if India extradited Kasab to Pakistan.

The terrorist crime was committed against people on Indian soil, they have no reason to extradite him to Pakistan where he could possibly be released so he could just do it all over again. There is no room on God's good earth for terrorists and purveyors of jihadist violence and the more we get rid of the better.

Brainwashed or not, we all have choices and if we make the wrong choices, we suffer the consequences. Kasab is guilty as sin, and deserves whathe gets.