Today's newspapers have the story of the release of a Pakistani convict from an Indian jail on humanitarian grounds. Indian express reports that the earlier meeting of the two prime ministers was cited by the Supreme Court judgement as one of the reasons for the release.
I would like to argue that there is a reason for India and Pakistan to delink bilateral relations from such individual humanitarian crises. Inadvertent border crossings and such instances should be treated on legal basis and not based on the state of the bilateral relations between India and Pakistan. Treating these people as victims instead of criminals would help unite estranged families and avoid the day to day tragedies that their families have to go through.
better still, the two countries should set down the guidelines in fast tracking such cases whenever possible.
On the other side of the spectrum, Sri Lanka's revenge of India's vote in the UNHRC has begun. it has threatened to take India to IAEA over possible radiation impacts of the Kudankulam plant on the island state.
Is India ready to face such irritants after its principled action against the alleged war crimes?
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