M A I L B A G

Beheading: Taliban does it again!

The beheading of Indian engineer, K. Suryanarayana, by the Taliban has shocked the entire world. The bread earner of a family has been murdered for no fault of his. The condition of the mutilated body of our engineer falsifies unequivocally the Taliban’s claim that he was killed while escaping from their custody.

The Taliban’s demand that all Indians should leave the country within 24 hours as a condition for the safety of the abducted Suryanarayana was preposterous and unheard of in a civilised world.

The afghan government must ensure the safety of all foreigners working for the reconstruction and rehabilitation of that country. If necessary, it may seek the help of friendly countries in this regard. The law of jungle should not be allowed to prevail.

G.R. KALRA, Chandigarh

II

It was distressing to read through the report “Suryanarayana’s haste cost him his life” (May 2). Though the report makes the Indian engineer wholly responsible for his murder by the Taliban, it does not explain what the haste was for — was it for his personal gain or for completing the task entrusted to him.

Instead of terming his exceptional devotion to duty as patriotic, the report blames Suryanarayana himself for his killing and not the Taliban. This is unfortunate because all the dignitaries — the Indian President, Prime Minister, Foreign Secretary and the Afghanistan President — have unequivocally condemned the killing as most barbaric.

Air Marshal P.K. JAIN (retd), Chandigarh

III

Close on the heels of the killing of Maniappan Raman Kutty, a Border Roads Organisation engineer working on the Zaranj-Delaram road project, another engineer Bharath Kumar working with a Turkish company was killed in a bomb explosion. And now comes the beheading of K. Suryanarayana by the Taliban in Afghanistan.

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh should speak again to the Afghan government to tighten security for Indian nationals working on various projects in Afghanistan. Apparently, the Pakistan government is not fully cooperating with the Afghan government to curb the Taliban’s activities as it does not want to see India playing a bigger role in Afghanistan’s development.

BIDYUT KUMAR CHATTERJEE, Faridabad

IV

The murder of Indian engineer K. Suryanarayana by the Taliban is a shameless and cowardly act of violence. The Indian government should do something drastic about the wretched Taliban. How many more Indian citizens will have to die in Afghanistan? The Indian government needs to be more firm with its counterpart in Afghanistan and make sure that proper security arrangements are made for Indians working in that nation and helping it develop.

PRASHANT SOLOMON, New Delhi

V

Mohammad Shah Zafar had written, Insan na us ko pehchaniay jise taish mein khofieh khudda na rake; jise aish mein yade khuda na rahey. (Do not consider that person a human being who is not afraid of God when he is in power and when he does not remember God while enjoying all the luxuries). Those barbarians who have beheaded the Indian engineer are surely inhuman. Our sympathies are with Suryanarayana’s family. We pray for the departed soul.

ONKAR SINGH RIAR, Sun Valley, Nevada (USA)

Memorable visit to Pakistan I got an opportunity to pay obeisance at some gurdwaras in Pakistan including the one at Nankana Sahib recently as part of a Jatha organised by the SGPC and the PGPC. It was a memorable visit. However, the arrangements made for the Jatha were not up to the expectations. At Amritsar, there were long queues for train tickets. At the Wagha check post, there was a stampede-like scene with everyone trying to board the train. Ditto when the first train reached Badami Bagh, Lahore, at 8.30 pm. I had to wait for over an hour to hire an autorickshaw. As accommodation is a problem, there is no point in sending big Jathas to Pakistan. Better send there regularly a Jatha of 2,000 people every fortnight. This would ease the problems of accommodation and immigration check. I must, however, commend the Pakistan Punjab Tourism authorities for arranging us a complimentary sight-seeing tour by four new A/C luxury buses. We were also extended hospitality. We should extend the same treatment when our Pakistan friends visit gurdwaras in our country. SHER SINGH, Ludhiana

Banking hassles

The facility for updating bank passbooks of Phase VII, Mohali branch of State Bank of Patiala, is not working properly, thus causing inconvenience to customers. Now though the printer is working, there are long queues of those who want to know their balance or get their transactions updated. The operator works at his whim. Worse, the computer software is defective.

Brig HARWANT SINGH (retd), Mohali