Pak social media dubs Ajmal Kasab as 'Sikh, RAW spy'

Pakistan's social media for strange reasons has started circulating an old video of Kasab, wherein Zaid Hamid, a right-wing political commentator of the country, falsely claimed that the Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was a 'Sikh man' named Amar Singh and worked as a 'spy' for India's Research and Analysis Wing.

Islamabad:Ajmal Amir Kasab, one of the terrorists who carried out the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008, was untowardly called a Sikh by social media in Pakistan, something which exposes the country's true attitude towards the minority community.

Pakistan's social media for strange reasons has started circulating an old video of Kasab, wherein Zaid Hamid, a right-wing political commentator of the country, falsely claimed that the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) terrorist was a "Sikh man" named Amar Singh and worked as a "spy" for India's Research and Analysis Wing (RAW).

Hamid's tone is demeaning towards the minority community, which is already facing persecution and atrocities at the hands of the Pakistani establishment.

The September incident of Jagjit Kaur, the Sikh girl, daughter of a granthi at Nankana Sahib, who was kidnapped from her home, converted to Islam and married to a Muslim boy, is a telling example of the sorry state of minorities in Pakistan.

With Islamabad being infamous for harbouring terrorists and separatist elements, cases of persecution of the minorities including Sikhs have come to light several times in the past, despite Prime Minister Imran Khan vowing to protect the communities in his country.

Despite the flagging of the holy Kartarpur corridor and several promises, the Pakistan government can't even guarantee the safety and security of the Sikh community on its soil.

While Pakistan claims to provide a safe atmosphere for the Sikhs and other minorities, in reality, it is openly propagating anti-India activities through the Khalistan movement on its soil.

Meanwhile, taking his diabolic narrative further, Hamid said that Indian intelligence sources had identified Kasab "as their agent and had even planned to arrest them, but after so many goof-ups while handling the situation, the sources took a decision to eliminate them."

The ghastly terror attacks in Mumbai which took place on November 26, 2008, lasted for four days killing 166 people and injuring over 300 others.

The 26/11, as these attacks are often referred to, saw 10 LeT terrorists coming to Mumbai via sea route from Pakistan and carried out a series of coordinated shooting and bombing attacks across India's financial capital.

After sailing to Mumbai under the cover of darkness, the terrorists targeted major landmarks of the city with the first attack taking place at the crowded Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus (CST) railway station.

Kasab and Ismail Khan attacked the station, killing as many as 58 people and injuring over 100.

Hamid, in the video, also called Khan as "Hira Lal", whom he described as another "RAW agent". He also made yet another sensational claim that the second attacker's face "was mutilated to conceal his real identity."

Kasab and Khan later entered to attack Cama Hospital, but the same was thwarted with the sound alertness of the hospital staff. They, however, killed six police officials including the city's Anti-Terrorism Squad Hemant Karkare in an ambush after leaving the hospital.

Other places that came under the attack included the Nariman House and residential complex where Rabbi, his wife, and six others, including five Israeli citizens, were killed by the terrorists, who first held them as a hostage.

The two-year-old child of the Rabbi couple, Moshe, survived in the attack. Then 'Baby Moshe' became the face of the innocent victims of ruthless terrorism.

The Pakistani terrorists staged a carnage at Leopold Cafe followed by Taj Mahal Hotel and Tower. Four terrorists attacked the famous cafe before entering the iconic Taj hotel, where they killed as many as 31 people after laying a three-day siege at the hotel.

The other site to come under attack during the 26/11 was the Oberoi-Trident hotel where another group of two terrorists entered at almost the same time, as four others had entered the Taj. At Oberoi-Trident hotel, the siege officially ended on the evening of November 28 with as many as 30 being killed in the horrific attack.

The attack and seize finally culminated on the morning of November 29, 2008, after the National Security Guards (NSG) secured the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel.

In these gruesome attacks, nine terrorists were killed and the lone survivor, Kasab, was caught and was sentenced to death at Yerwada Central Jail in Pune in 2012.

The Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), whose mastermind was Hafiz Saeed, was believed to have plotted the 26/11 attacks.

New Delhi has, time and again, protested against Islamabad for harbouring Saeed, who is wanted for allegedly plotting the 2008 attacks.

India's stand on Saeed has been supported by many International personalities including a former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) director and former Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai.

Ties between India and Pakistan have remained tense since the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks and nosedived after the Uri and Pulwama terror attack by Pakistan-based terrorists in September 2016 and February 2019 respectively, in which many soldiers lost their lives.