Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah, who is opposed to the execution of Mohammed Afzal, has said the death punishment for the Parliament terror attack convict is "too extreme".
the breakaway HC has given a general strike call on Friday in protest against the court's order.
At least five persons were injured as fresh protests today broke out in Kashmir against the hanging of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru even as authorities relaxed curfew for three hours in some parts of the Valley, officials said.
The Supreme Court on Friday sought the Centre's response on a plea by Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru for transfer to a prison in Jammu and Kashmir from Tihar jail.
Charging him with 'lying' on the issue of detention centres for illegal Bangladeshi immigrants and equating the Sarabjit case with that of Afzal Guru, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Friday demanded an apology from Home Minister Shivraj Patil, failing which Prime Minister Manmohan Singh must sack him from the Council of Ministers.
A case has been registered against a Central Reserve Police Force unit for allegedly using "excessive force" against persons protesting hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru that left one person dead and four others injured.
"Faced with growing popular opposition and resistance on every front, the Congress party and the UPA government are desperately trying to appease the BJP and the communal-fascist brigade," General Secretary of CPI(ML) Liberation, Dipankar Bhattacharya said in a statement in New Delhi.
The opposition Peoples Democratic Party has decided to vote in favour of the resolution seeking clemency for Afzal Guru to be tabled in the state assembly during its forthcoming short session beginning in Srinagar on Monday.
A controversy erupted on Sunday over the purported communication from the Centre to the family of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru about the decision to hang him on Saturday with the family alleging they had come to know about his hanging from TV channels and Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah joining the criticism.
Chairman of All Parties Hurriyat Conference Syed Ali Shah Geelani on Saturday condemned the hanging of Afzal Guru, saying the latter was not involved in the 2001 Parliament attack and was also not given a chance to defend himself in connection with this case. Geelani said Guru's hanging at the Tihar Jail this morning is a matter of sorrow and pain for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.
Noting that the President's actions did not reflect his esteemed position, Thackeray said Kalam was a leading scientist of the country but had lost the dignity of the post after he became President.
Responding to Leader of Opposition Lal Kishenchand Advani's demand for a decision before Wednesday, the anniversary of the attack, Patil said no deadline had been set in such cases earlier.
Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah on Monday told the state assembly that 2001 Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru's hanging was not 'selective and political' and that 'the course of action regarding similar cases would determine it'.
Tourism and handicrafts sectors -- the pivots of state's economy--were the worst hit due to disturbances in normal life due to strike calls and curfew over a period of 26 days since the hanging of Guru on February nine in Delhi's Tihar jail.
A resolution seeking clemency for Afzal Guru, a death row convict in Parliament attack case, was stalled in the Jammu and Kashmir assembly on Wednesday after pandemonium broke out leading to adjournment of the House without any business being transacted.
A man injured in a stone-pelting incident in Anantnag district of Kashmir succumbed to injuries, taking the death toll to five in the clashes that erupted in the Valley following hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru.
Curfew continued in Kashmir Valley for the fourth consecutive day on Tuesday even as authorities blocked all roads leading to the hometown of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru to foil any attempts by people to assemble there on the fourth day ceremony of the deceased.
People's Democratic Party patron Mufti Muhammad Sayeed on Monday called India a "banana republic" over Afzal Guru's family not being allowed to meet the Parliament attack convict before he was hanged, a day after Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah said this was a "tragedy".
Curfew was on Saturday lifted from Kashmir Valley, a week after it was imposed following hanging of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru. "Curfew has been lifted from all the ten districts in the Valley," a police spokesman said.
Trying to fish in troubled waters, Pakistan's parliament on Thursday passed a resolution condemning the hanging of Afzal Guru and demanded the return of his body to his family.
A day after approaching the authorities at Tihar Jail, seeking handing over of Afzal Guru's body to his family, two lawyers representing them on Wednesday withdrew as their counsel, citing "unseemly controversies" and "suspicion" by certain political groups in Kashmir.
Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday said she was not aware of any letter sent by the Union home ministry seeking her government's comments on the mercy petition filed by Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
The Home Ministry sat over Afzal Guru's mercy petition and did not send its recommendation to President A P J Abdul Kalam till his last day in office, it has been disclosed. Putting a lid on speculative reports that Kalam had deliberately kept the petition pending, P M Nair, who was Secretary to the President, said till July 25, 2007, Kalam's last day in office, no recommendation had come from the Home Ministry on the issue.
Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was a tired man during the last few hours of his life, before he was hanged for his role in the Parliament attack in 2001. He was informed about his hanging on Sunday evening. He was told that his mercy petition had been rejected and the date of hanging had been fixed for February 9.
The petitions will also be sent to different international human rights organisations like Amnesty International.
The hanging of Afzal Guru has prompted the Uttar Pradesh government to beef up security in and around the Kumbh Mela in Allahabad, where nearly two crore people are expected to be converging over the next 24 hours to take a dip on what is considered the 'most auspicious' day of the 55-day-long festival that began on January 14.
Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde on Friday said he will have a look at the mercy petition of Parliament attack case convict Afzal Guru only after the Winter Session of Parliament.
"Our worst enemies couldn't have done it better," was how eminent jurist Fali S Nariman reacted to the manner of execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru without properly communicating it to his family.
The disclosure of file notings on the mercy petition of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru may prejudicially affect country's sovereignty and integrity, the Ministry of Home Affairs has said. The Ministry rejected an RTI application seeking file notings on the petition, citing "safety and security concern." It said the petition is under examination in the Ministry as comments from Delhi government are "still awaited" on the matter.
Afzal Guru had written a letter to his wife Tabassum hours before he was executed on Saturday morning in the high-security Tihar jail. "He penned a letter to his wife before he was taken to the gallows," a top official of the jail said.
The Delhi Police are on alert after the United States-based Khalistani supporter Gurpatwant Singh Pannu released a video message threatening to 'shake the very foundation of Parliament' on December 13 -- the anniversary of the 2001 terrorist attack on Parliament.
"Any judgment as per the law of the country will be processed and carried out. Law is the final authority," Kalam firmly told media persons on Saturday night while returning from Athens.
Indian agencies warn that despite being told to maintain a low profile by the ISI, Maulana Masood Azhar could still spin out of control and use the hanging of Afzal Guru as a reason to strike.
Hurriyat Conference chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has demanded the resignations of Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Omar Abdullah and his father, union minister Dr Farooq Abdullah.
Normal life in Kashmir was affected on Friday due to a strike called by a group of separatists in the Valley, demanding return of Parliament attack convict Mohammad Afzal Guru's body to his family.
With questions being raised over the delay in clearing the mercy petition file of death row convict Afzal Guru, Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit on Monday said it took longer time to take a decision on the issue because of its sensitive nature.
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