US warned of retaliation

Published November 16, 2002

LOS ANGELES, Nov 15: Mir Aimal Kasi, just a few hours before execution, had warned the US of severe retaliation after his death.

In an exclusive interview on Thursday from his death cell to WTTG channel in Virginia, Kasi said: “I was really angry with the policy of the US government in the Middle East, particularly toward the Palestinian people.

“In Pakistan, a lot of people like me. So I believe there will be big chances for retaliation against Americans there. But, personally, I don’t encourage anyone to attack Americans,” he said.

Asad Hayauddin, press attache in the embassy of Pakistan, said Kasi’s two brothers had met embassy officials last week and asked for its support to spare Kasi’s life. The embassy then wrote a letter to the Virginia governor seeking, on humanitarian grounds, a stay of execution.

“We endorse the clemency request of the Kasi family,” Hayauddin said.

Kasi is the fourth person who was executed in Virginia this year. He went on a 1993 shooting rampage outside the CIA headquarters — an attack he said was motivated by his anger toward Washington’s Middle East policies.

He was convicted in 1997 of the killings of two CIA employees — Frank Darling, 28, and Lansing Bennett, 66 — as they sat in their cars in morning traffic outside the CIA headquarters. Three other CIA employees, all in separate cars, were wounded in the attack.

Opinion

Editorial

Budget for stabilisation
Updated 13 Jun, 2024

Budget for stabilisation

The proposed steps lack any “disruptive policy changes", especially to "right-size" the govt, and doubts remain on authorities' ability to enforce new measures.
State of the economy
13 Jun, 2024

State of the economy

THE current fiscal year is but another year lost. Going by the new Pakistan Economic Survey, which maps the state of...
Unyielding onslaught
Updated 13 Jun, 2024

Unyielding onslaught

SEVEN soldiers paid the ultimate price in Lakki Marwat on Sunday when their vehicle was blown up in an IED attack,...
X diplomacy
Updated 12 Jun, 2024

X diplomacy

Both states can pursue adversarial policies, or come to the negotiating table and frankly discuss all outstanding issues, which can be tackled through dialogue.
Strange decisions
12 Jun, 2024

Strange decisions

THE ECP continues to wade deeper and deeper into controversy. Through its most recent decision, it had granted major...
Interest rate cut
Updated 11 Jun, 2024

Interest rate cut

The decision underscores SBP’s confidence that economic stability is gaining traction.