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| Contours of Afzal Guru's statement | | Betrays desperation or a calculated move | | Early Times Special Correspondent
Jammu | June 10
News Analysis
The statement given to a New Delhi newspaper by Mohammad Afzal Guru, who is waiting execution of death sentence awarded to him by the Indian courts for his involvement in the Parliament attack case in 2001,has given rise to varied reactions and wide ranging speculations. Afzal Guru told his interviewer in Tihar jail in Delhi that he wants a speedy conclusion to his ordeal and Bharatiya Janta Party's Prime Ministerial candidate L K Advani would act swiftly in deciding his plight, while UPA government is dilly dallying on his death sentence.
Whether in making a statement, wishing BJP to come back to power in New Delhi and its Prime Minister L K Advani to fastly execute the death sentence awarded to him, to spare him the daily ordeal, he is going through in a solitary cell in the jail, Afzal Guru has given vent to extreme frustration and desperation of constantly living in suspense over his fate between life and death, for a long time or it is a calculated move on his part to raise fresh controversy in the country as well as in the world as a whole over the award of capital punishment on one hand, stirring the conscience of all those who advocate all together doing away with capital punishment as well as the human rights protagonists on one hand and to enthuse a new blood in the seeping morale of the secessionists and militants in Kashmir, is a moot question.
Whether expecting decisiveness on the part of L K Advani and the BJP in taking quick decision about his fate, compared to indecisiveness and dithering on the part of the present UPA government to either execute the death sentence awarded to him or pardon the same, accepting his mercy petition submitted to the President of India, Afzal Guru has really given "The devil his due", as per terrorists and secessionists estimation or he has only paid a left handed complement to Advani implicitly digging at the hard heartedness of the BJP leaders? Alternatively has he tried to strike a personal chord with Advani and the BJP leaders, whom he expects to come to power after the 2009 elections in the Centre and has made a bid to awaken the spirit of human kindness lying in their hearts, to have its play and their joining in a likely move to pardon his death sentence? Again is it a move on the part of Afzal Guru, on whose behalf earlier his family members have submitted a mercy petition before the President of India, despite Afzal Guru's public proclamation that he would not seek mercy from the Indian authorities, in view of the lack of faith of Kashmiris for any justice from the authorities in India, is an act of bravado, to ultimately become the icon for the Islamic Jehadis in Kashmir and elsewhere?
The divergent reactions from various quarters to his apparent betrayal of desperation have been on the expected lines. While it has provided one more opportunity to BJP President Rajnath Singh to have a dig on the UPA government for its weak-kneed policy towards the terrorists, which is exemplified by their dragging feet in executing the death sentence awarded to the convict in the parliamentary attack case, which has been upheld by the Apex Court of the country, even after three years of the same, the BJP Spokesman Rudhar Pratap Rudy has owned the credit for even their hardest adversary acknowledging the decisiveness and clear cut policy of the party against UPAs indecisiveness and failure to take the firm stand.
On the other hand it has provided one more occasion to the secessionists and terrorists in Kashmir to indulge in India bashing and terming Afzal Guru a martyr for their cause as well as terming the entire judicial process gone through in the case of Afzal as a perjury and a biased approach towards Kashmiri Muslims. Reacting to his statement Afzal's cousin Yaseen Guru has said "He has been driven to desperation in the face of justice denied to him. He also alleged harassment being caused to his family by the authorities. He also alleged that Indian media is trying to demonize him. He further revealed, whenever he rights home he asks not to bow before injustice saying that we are fighting for noble cause and his spirits are high. Thus this is a move to project Afzal Guru as a martyr for the cause and icon of the Jehadies. The hardcore secessionist and Islamic fundamentalist leader, Ali Shaw Geelani has said, "The Indian system looks for revenge not justice. Afzal has been subjected to psychological torture by the jail authorities. His statement betrays frustration that has beset him in Jail. His family is being hounded by the police and Indian intelligence agencies". Hurriyat Conference(M) Chairman said. "Kashmiris cannot expect justice from Indian system. The whole system is biased against the Kashmiris thousands of Kashmiris are languishing in jails because they have committed the crime of being Kashmiris.
In the meanwhile those advocating abolishing of death sentence and instead plead for life imprisonment as punishment for the rarest of rare heinous crime are made to have a second thought, whether the prolonged imprisonment is a more and constant torture with daily ordeal than execution snatching life from the convict in one go. |
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