[nukkad] Kashmir Singh was indeed a spy?

["Indian Rediff" <>]

How sad that the Indian government refused to admit this! And that
Pakistan actually did *not* hang him is truly commendable. After all,
spies are executed with almost no due process (generally speaking).

Below article from The Economist. How come it wasn't sensational news
in general?

HE CAME IN FROM THE COLD

A WHITE-BEARDED old man has returned to India, and to the glare of a
hundred newspaper cameras, after 35 years in a Pakistani jail. Kashmir
Singh was arrested in 1973 on spying charges and the Indian media,
quick to cock a snook at their struggling neighbour, suggested a cruel
injustice had been done to this travelling "salesman". But speaking to
journalists shortly after embracing his "still beautiful" wife and
noting the astonishing number of motor cars about, Mr Singh disabused
them of their indignation. Raging at the Indian government for leaving
his family in poverty, he declared he had indeed been a spy. "I did
the duty assigned to me as a spy," he told journalists. "I did not
open my mouth for 35 years."

India and Pakistan have fought three wars and numerous near-wars in
the past 60 years. Their jails are dotted with men arrested on spying
charges. India says 600 of its nationals languish in Pakistani jails;
Pakistan says India has 200 of its men. Though a peace process was
launched in 2004, the two countries are still believed to conduct
intelligence missions across the border and to make arrests on either
side.

Mr Singh's release was a sign of something better. Ansar Burney,
Pakistan's human-rights minister, had discovered Mr Singh's plight
himself. He had pleaded with President Pervez Musharraf for his
release. At the border, the two men had hugged, and Mr Singh had
wished that all Indians and Pakistanis would get on as well. Later,
hearing of Mr Singh's confession, Mr Burney said he was shocked. But
his actions were nonetheless in line with the peace process that has
improved ties and reduced suspicions on both sides. Indeed, the thaw
may be happening even faster in Pakistan, perhaps because its other
concerns—terrorism, political uncertainty—seem even more pressing.


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