[Reader-list] Is Kasab a Pakistani?

[Taha Mehmood]

Dear Pawan,

Thank you for your comments. Please allow me to tell you that I am not at
all, in any way whatsoever even remotely interested in thinking whether
Kasab was promised virgins in Heaven nor I think I am informed enough to
speak whether he was a spy or whether Rehman Malik is stupid.

Unfortunately, given my absolute ignorance on rather pertinent issues raised
by you, I can neither comment nor engage with you. So Pawan please forgive
me, if my post hinted at a possible dialogue on stupidity of Government
Officials, or uninhibited sexual forays of Islamic terrorists once they
reach their respective paradise or for that matter the grave and the
mysterious ways in which spies collaborate with government departments to
fulfill deep dark agendas. It was totally unintentional.

However, I am deeply interested in the rather more banal issues of
-identity- and how it is imagined both on a individual level and on the
scale of a nation state. What is the nature of relationship between forms of
identification practice and the discourse of through which the idea of
identity is clustered.

Kasab's post was sent to reader list in this regard. I wanted to draw
attention to what I believe is a very important case in Kasab, where we have
an individual who is asserting that he is a citizen of a State. The State is
refuting that assertion by citing an evidence that he is -in fact- not a
citizen because his name does not figure in a database. Now Pawan, if we
look closely at this guy Kasab and the dilemma that he is going through
right now, then we can perhaps grasp that what we have in front of us is a
classic case wherein even if we know that who we are, our assertion can be
challenged because our name does not figure in a database.

We do know by what Rehman Malik says that, Kasab's name IS not there in the
Pakistani National Database, what we do not know, or will perhaps never know
is  whether Kasab's name WAS ever there??

As far as the issue of identity is concerned my heart goes out to Kasab for
in the depths of my heart I want him to tell the world that he is Pakistani,
that his name is Kasab. That he is a Muslim. In other words I want him to
tell the world what is his name, his residence, his nationality and his
religion. In a sense his most primary documented identity. And I want the
world to beleive in him. Except for the fact that his name do not figure in
a database.

I think for all us in India, it is important that we carefully consider all
the options before we embark on a digitized identification regime because,
Kasab's case is a clear marker of how our earnest assertion about our
individual identity may collapse if the cusodian of the memory of ones
identity decide to change its mind.

Warm regards

Taha



On Wed, Dec 24, 2008 at 12:40 PM, Pawan Durani <pawan.durani at gmail.com>wrote:

> Dear Taha ,
>
> Let us not talk stupid like Rehman malik . It is a fact no country owns
> terrorist ,,,,,not even spies.....
>
> Even if the spy is a regular with any countrys defense/intelligence
> department....
>
> In thhis case Kasab was anyway a dacoit turn Jihadi who was promised
> virgins in Heaven....
>
> Pawan
>
> On Wed, Dec 24, 2008 at 6:05 PM, Taha Mehmood <2tahamehmood at googlemail.com
> > wrote:
>
>> "I have already stated on record that Kasab's name is not on the NADRA
>> records. And NADRA is an organisation which keeps the record of all
>> Pakistani nationals."
>>
>> Advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister, Rehman Malik
>>
>>
>>
>> Please follow the full story below.
>>
>> Best
>>
>> Taha
>>
>>
>>
>> http://ibnlive.in.com/news/kasab-pleads-pak-for-legal-aid-as-custody-extended/81259-3.html
>> Published on *Wed, Dec 24, 2008
>>
>> **New Delhi:* A desperate Ajmal Kasab - the lone terrorist captured alive
>> after the 26/11 terror strike in Mumbai - has once again sought the help
>> of
>> the Pakistan High Commission for a lawyer, but Pakistan is still refusing
>> to
>> accept his nationality.
>>
>> On Wednesday, Kasab told the magistrate who was presiding over his custody
>> hearing that he wanted to contact the Pakistan High Commission for his
>> legal
>> defence.
>>
>> This is the second time that Kasab has asked Pakistan for legal aid - more
>> than sufficient proof that he is a Pakistan national. The first time that
>> he
>> had done this was when he had written a letter to the Pakistan High
>> Commission, a few days ago.
>>
>> Kasab has also been booked in the case of hijacking a Skoda car near
>> Girgaum
>> Chowpatti and fleeing in the same car along with another terrorist and
>> remanded to police custody till January 6, 2009 by Additional Chief
>> Metropolitan Magistrate NN Shrimangle on Wednesday.
>>
>> In his letter he had claimed that he and the other terrorists who had been
>> killed in the attacks were Pakistani and had sought a meeting with the
>> Pakistan High Commission. However, Islamabad did not pay heed to his
>> request, saying he was not a Pakistani.
>>
>> The letter asked Pakistani officials to claim the body of his fellow
>> terrorist Ismail Khan's body and give it an Islamic burial. In it, Kasab
>> also named Zaki-ur-rehman Lakhvi, believed to be the man who lured him
>> into
>> terrorism, Lashkar-e-Toiba chief Hafiz Sayeed and member Mohammad Kahafa
>> as
>> his trainers.
>>
>> Pakistan is currently examining the contents of Kasab's letter and is
>> expected to make a formal announcement on his status on Wednesday.
>> Meanwhile, Kasab will stay in police custody till January 6.
>>
>> Advisor to Pakistan Prime Minister, Rehman Malik has said that the truth
>> about Kasab's identity will be out as soon as the letter has been
>> examined.
>>
>> "If you get some accusations, there is always a process of elimination to
>> prove something or disapprove something. We have received a letter and we
>> are examining it> i have already stated on record that Kasab's name is not
>> on the NADRA records. And NADRA is an organisation which keeps the record
>> of
>> all Pakistani nationals. So we are looking into it and whatever the truth
>> we'll bring to the notice of public," he said.
>>
>> On being asked if he had asked the Interpol chief to tell India to give
>> evidence, Malik stated, "Why should I ask? I think the Interpol chief's
>> verdict should be final because he was himself present in India. We draw
>> the
>> attention of the international community to this."
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