We are used to such news headings appearing every once in a while originating most often from the ME, particularly KSA. We accept their strict laws and enforcement, and submit. Not much attention is paid to the many beheadings that take place now and then due to the many cases of trafficking, murder, rape, sodomy, adultery, robbery, apostasy that take place.
Over the past month or so though, I’ve come across this headline almost every other day if not daily. Here are some links. These are all from May 2007. I can’t even recall if the streak had actually begun in May, or March/April.
1 May 2007
Pakistani beheaded in S. Arabia
http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/02/top16.htm
2 May 2007
Four Pakistanis executed for murder, rape
http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=123&art_id=nw20070502111845928C140425
11 May 2007
Pakistani Beheaded in Jeddah
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\11\story_11-5-2007_pg7_50
12 May 2007
Three Pakistanis beheaded in S. Arabia
http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/12/top18.htm
13 May 2007
Saudi Arabia beheads a Saudi and a Pakistani man
The Jerusalem Post - All News from the Middle East, Israel, and the Jewish World
15 May 2007
Pakistani among six beheaded in Saudi Arabia
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\15\story_15-5-2007_pg7_32
17 May 2007
Pakistani beheaded for smuggling Heroin
وكالة الأنباء السعودية
20 May 2007
Kuwait hangs Pakistani convicted of smuggling heroin
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/20/africa/ME-GEN-Kuwait-Hanging.php
21 May 2007
Drug Trafficker Beheaded
http://archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/05/21/10126958.html
24 May 2007
Saudi Authorities behead Pakistani convicted of drug smuggling
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/05/24/africa/ME-GEN-Saudi-Beheading.php
This number could be increasing right now. It’s not that they don’t behead locals, they’re executed equally wholesale too;
http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/04/26/africa/ME-GEN-Saudi-Beheading.php
Most of these are related with drugs, few with rape, robbery or murder.
Can’t call our people exactly innocent.
But cant have blind faith in Saudi legal system either. There is racism and oppression against foreign (esp lower) workers in the ME.
Can’t actually believe that all these are 100% Pakistanis just because they were caught with a Pakistani passport.
Do our embassies or the govt take notice of these executions of Pakistanis that take place in bulk? Is a Pakistani life so cheap that the govt and local HR activists of sorts don’t bother while other nations and nationalities are so valuable, aware and important that even a single death row prisoner stirs global movements. Remember Mirza Tahir Hussain a (naturalized) UK citizen?
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=37660
And most recently two young Palestinian-Canadian brothers living in KSA who’re convicted of murder, have stirred the Canadians and the Western society at large.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20070515.wsaudi15/BNStory/International/home
Pakistani convicts are in the news only after they’re executed.
Do we care to find out why there are so many Pakistani beheadings? Why there are so many Pakistani criminals goig abroad and giving Pakistan a bad name? Are they all really Pakistani? Are they all really the right culprits and the criminals they’re *proven *to be? Are they given a fair trial? Some corners do raise concerns about executions, and the rising nos in SA, but slight concern for numerous executions aren’t in proportion.
Most of the cases are actually deserved sentences that call for capital punishment almost all over the world, but we need to be sure how much justice is actually being provided.
The point here is not to talk about whether capital punishment, death by the sword, strict interpretation and implementation of Islamic Law etc is right/wrong, justified/unjustified, reasonable/unreasonable or not, rather the subject is the plight of those convicted, our nation and govt’s concern for them and this issue and the way all this affects Pakistan’s image.