Afzal Execution ‘Unfortunate’, Kar Says He Sought Clemency in Letter to President
Srinagar, March 16, KNT: Former Pradesh Congress Committee president Ghulam Rasool Kar on Saturday said he had written to the President of India seeking clemency for Mohammad Afzal Guru prior to his execution, describing the hanging as “unfortunate” and saying it had deepened anger in Kashmir.
Speaking to the news agency Kashmir News Trust, Kar disclosed that he had sent a three-page letter to the President shortly before the execution. He declined to make the contents public at this stage, terming it a “historic letter” that would be released at an appropriate time.
Kar claimed he had also suggested to authorities that Afzal be sent to Pakistan in exchange for the release of Indian prisoner Sarabjit Singh, arguing that such a move could have saved two lives.
He said the execution had intensified resentment in the Valley and added that people in Jammu and Kashmir were facing hardships. Without elaborating, Kar remarked that developments in Kashmir were evident to all and indicated that he wished to reveal more but was constrained by his political position.
Afzal Guru, a resident of Sopore, was executed earlier in connection with the 2001 Parliament attack case. [KNT]
