M A I N   N E W S

Omar slams execution, says it will fuel alienation

Srinagar, February 10
An angry Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Sunday slammed the execution of Parliament attack mastermind Afzal Guru and said this would reinforce a sense of alienation and injustice among generations of youth in the Valley.

Omar also said it was a “tragedy” that Guru was not allowed to meet his family before he was hanged and not allowed a "final farewell". The 43-year-old was hanged and buried on Tihar Jail premises in Delhi on Saturday.

Clearly unhappy with the hanging of Guru, the CM said there were many questions that needed to be answered. Omar observed that the long-term implications of the hanging of Guru's hanging were “far more worrying” as they were related to the new generation of youth in Kashmir “who may not have identified with Maqbool Bhatt but will identify with Afzal Guru.”

Bhat was hanged in 1984 for the murder of Indian diplomat Ravindra Mhatre in the UK. "Please understand that there is more than one generation of Kashmiris that sees itself as victims. They see themselves as category of people who will not receive justice," Omar said in TV interviews.

“Whether you like it or not, the execution of Afzal Guru has reinforced that point that there is no justice for them. This is far more disturbing and worrying than the short-term implications on the security front. How we would be able to correct or address that sense of injustice and alienation is a question to which I don’t have any answer,” he added. Asked about the official position of the ruling National Conference on the hanging, Omar said: “Obviously, we didn’t want it to happen.” — PTI

‘Tragic that family couldn’t meet Guru’

Omar expressed concern over his government being informed about Afzal Guru’s execution just 12 hours in advance and said he was hurt that the family of Guru had not been informed in due time. Omar said it was a "tragedy" that Guru was not allowed to meet his family before he was hanged. Omar said his government could have arranged a state government plane to take Guru's family to Delhi for meeting him.