A livid Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday put the Congress-led UPA government in the dock over the secretive hanging of Afzal Guru and denying his family its right to meet him. The Centre, he said, would have to prove to the world that it was not a “selective execution.”
Pointing out that the execution would lead to alienation in the Valley, Mr. Abdullah, in an interview to news channel CNN-IBN, termed the hanging a “political decision” and questioned why political parties, particularly the BJP, do not press for the hanging of killers of the former Prime Minister, Rajiv Gandhi, or that of the former Punjab Chief Minister, Beant Singh.
“Generations of Kashmiris will identify with Afzal Guru... You will have to prove to the world that the death penalty is not used selectively. The onus rests on the judiciary and the political leadership to show that this wasn’t a selective execution,” Mr. Abdullah said, whose National Conference is an ally in the UPA government.
“Why don’t we see the BJP clamouring for execution of Beant Singh’s killers or Rajiv Gandhi’s killers? If that [Afzal Guru’s hanging] was to be the last execution on people who attacked Indian democracy, I would call it a political decision,” he noted.
Though Mr. Abdullah had “premonition” that Afzal Guru’s execution would follow the hanging of the Mumbai attack case convict Ajmal Kasab, he said he would have preferred if Guru had not hanged. Asked what could be the possible fallout, he said it would breed alienation among Kashmiris. “A lot of what happens in the Valley simmers under the surface. There are a few things I need to discuss with the [Union] government over the larger implications,” he added.
Mr. Abdullah also expressed concern over the Centre following the rulebook while carrying out the execution.
“I find it very difficult to reconcile myself to a fact that we executed a person who wasn’t given the opportunity to see his family for the last time... There is something wrong in the system if we are sending information [of execution] through Speed Post [as per jail manual norms] in this era. We could have easily got the family to meet him in Delhi and kept it a secret.”
Asserting that something should have been done to ensure that the family would have had a last hour to spend with him before he was executed, Mr. Abdullah said he would talk to the government about the issue of bringing Afzal Guru’s remains back to the Valley.
Keywords: Omar Abdullah, Afzal Guru hanging, Kashmir dispute, 2001 Parliament attack, National Conference
Kashmiris all over the world feel very strongly about this. I personally
did not know much about Afzal but his hanging has made him a martyr for
most Kashmiris. Like Omar said they didnt let his family meet him and
disrepected his family by informing them via mail. I think its time for
India to withdraw from Kashmir because we don't want to be a part of
India.
Shalini;
"Just because hanging Afzal Guru will alienate the youth of Kashmir dose
not mean that the law should not have taken its course."
That is precisely the point, the law requires that Afzal's kin be notified in a timely fashion.
It is time to behave like an elder brother and stop death sentences to Kashmir militants, if we feel that Kashmir is a part of India and all Kasmiris are brothers and sisters of us. Revenge sentences never solve any problem.
Omar Abdullah's statements are out of place in the context of the
alleged involvement of Afzal Guru in the Parliament attack. If he was
guilty and if the killers had no sympathy for the victims and their
abrupt end to life, there can be little sympathy wasted on the fact
that Afzal Guru was not allowed to meet his family. If he was innocent,
then the question is of miscarriage of justice. From both perspectives,
Omar Abdullah statements are not correct. It is a different matter that
the state could and should have been gracious and more human than the
killers - otherwise what is the difference?
Mr.Abdullah,these all seems to be the tears in the eyes of a crocodile.If you were so concerned,why didn't you held yourself responsible for the fair trail for Guru.Leave Guru for now as he is already dead,what about hundred of Muslim Youths who are nabbed by police,IB and then denigrated as terrorist for the rest of their life.Guru was needed for the closure of the case and many like him are not given so-called fair trial and shot dead in fake encounters.Have some shame and raise issues and concerns on time so that the dead can enjoy benefits of being alive.
My question is:
1. What were the media and the J&K Governments doing these ten plus years when Afzal Guru was in prison and awaiting his imminent death? If they could all talk of justification and justice after hanging him, all these opinions could have been discussed with the Central Government and the Judiciary long before this happening. If one notes, not much happened in this case between 2006 and 2011; anybody who wanted to plead Afzal not guilty had ample time to have done so with anybody concerned. There cannot be much to be done now after this soul has departed. All concerned, please take some time to introspect ourselves in the light of humanity.
This "proof" can be demanded by a full citizen of India, not by a
special Art.370 citizen. The day J&K accepts full citizenship of
India, they can demand the moon and the sun too, else all rights
may not be made available to them. Its high time India undo's a
historical blunder, by scrapping Art.370 and facing the
consequences of doing so.When Pakistan can annex Gigit and Hunza
and also scede them to China, why cant India scarp Art.370 and face
the world, like a true Independent Nation.
Just because hanging Afzal Guru will alienate the youth of Kashmir dose
not mean that the law should not have taken its course.The law cannot
anyway please everyone.There will always be a section of people against
some kind of punishment.
Whether or not capital punishment should be carried out in India is a
debatable matter, but till the time the law permits it, there is no
reason why it should not go ahead with it.
Mr. Omar is right. Govt should show that indeed they have zero tolerance to acts of terrorism and fanaticism.Indian polity is not yet ready to identify and agree to segregate particular caste who are feigning hatred amongst communities which some times is culminating into mass hysteria.There is no animosity between minority and majority through out India because they are similarly placed socially educationally and economically. It is RSS which is supported by trader by money that is used to gather crowds of disgruntled and semi literate sidelined by current dispensation. BUT Mr. Omar how will you explain your cooperation with these forces in NDA? Please come out clear!
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