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Islamabad, May 5 (ANI): Terming the trial and the verdict of the special anti-terror court against Ajmal Amir Kasab, the lone surviving gunman who along with his nine other associates unleashed a reign of death and destruction for nearly three days in November 2008 in Mumbai, as ‘fair’, an editorial in one of Pakistan’s leading English dailies has stressed that after the verdict it has become more important for Pakistan to nab people like Hafeez Muhammed Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi if it really wants peace talks with India to succeed.

The Daily Times editorial pointed out that the Kasab’s verdict highlights the ‘impartality’ of the Indian judiciary and that Pakistan must “gain a little wisdom from the whole episode both politically and judicially.”

“If the resumption of dialogue and mutual understanding is to be demonstrated with India, we must accept this verdict for what it is: one that is fair and an example of the impartial Indian judicial tradition,” the editorial said.It said that as the Indian court has held both the Jammat-ud-Daawa (JuD) chief Hafeez Muhammed Saeed and Lashkar-e-Taiba’s (LeT) operations commander Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi responsible for the terror attacks, it was for Pakistan’s own interest that it nabs these terrorist leaders.

“In the interests of justice and regional harmony, any lingering sympathy for these terrorist organisations should not allow anyone to escape the long arm of the law. No matter where the trail leads, we ought to take a cue from judicial structures that have a history of more respect and independence than ours and translate charges and accusations into full-scale investigations and trials,” the editorial went on to add.

While many Pakistanis may have denounced the verdict against Kasab, saying he has been specially targeted, the editorial said that people’s reaction over the court’s decision was due to the fact that Pakistan does not have a definite benchmark of legal standards.

It added that Pakistan’s judiciary system has been highly politicised, however, in India politics and judiciary have stayed clear of each other.

“Pakistan is the victim of a judicial system that has unfortunately been highly politicised in our history, but India is starkly different, as the judiciary has steered clear of politics,” the editorial said. (ANI)