The State Is Complicit In Creating Terrorists Like Omar Sheikh
Hansal, why a film on the life of Omar Sheikh? This is the terrorist who beheaded [journalist] Daniel Pearl. India was forced to release him when IC 814 was hijacked [to Kandahar] in 1999. We know his story. Did you feel you had something new to say about him?
Hansal: I believe some of us knew his story. I think the story needed to be told, and as a personal story—as the journey of this boy. For me, what was most important is the way the state is complicit in creating and harbouring individuals like Omar Sheikh.
Which state? Because, in the movie it clearly refers to Pakistan. Omar is of Pakistani origin from Britain.
Hansal: Yes, I refer to the Pakistani establishment. The ‘deep state’ as you say—the ISI and their patronising of individuals like Omar Sheikh.
What is the ‘omerta’—the silence—that you are trying to break? There are several layers of silence. Silence could be about Islamism, about religious fundamentalism or state-backed terrorism as in the case of Pakistan and Omar Sheikh.
This story is from the April 01, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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This story is from the April 01, 2018 edition of THE WEEK.
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