Jagdeesh Kumar's only crime, it seems, was to be a Hindu in a Muslim country. He was killed by an enraged mob because he supposedly blasphemed Islam, which is a crime in Pakistan (thanks General Zia, hope your stay in hell is a pleasant one), during a heated argument with a co-worker at the factory where Jagdeesh worked.

The blasphemy laws are odious, unfair and applied capriciously (and most Pakistanis would agree with me), but the rule of law still prevails. Alleged offenders like Jagdeesh deserve their day in court, a fundamental human right. But even this was denied to Jagdeesh, who wasn't handed over to the relevant authorities as the law dictates. Instead, the mob took matters into their own hands: they pronounced judgment and meted out punishment, right then and there. Mob justice at its finest.

All this happened while the police stood idly by, twiddling their thumbs, as they are ought to do. I don't know if they were lazy, or they actively aided and abetted the mob, or are outright incompetent-- probably the combination of the three-- but they did nothing to save Jagdeesh's life.

For me, it is just one more confirmation that minorities are forsaken in Islamic Pakistan. They are discriminated against, live in dhimmitude, and their testimony does not hold up compared to Muslims in Islamic courts. In essence, they are second-class citizens.

Jinnah, when he established Pakistan, promised a secular republic, but his dream, like the Hindus who decided to stay in Pakistan after Partition, has turned sour.