Punjab Congress president Capt Amarinder Singh on Saturday welcomed the hanging of the Jaish-e-Mohammad militant Afzal Guru for his role in the attack on Parliament in December 2001.
In a statement issued here, Capt Amarinder asserted that the attack on Parliament was a highly provocative act that needed to be dealt with an iron hand. "An attack on Parliament is an attack on all the people of the country, which is unacceptable," he said, while justifying the hanging.

He said India is a sovereign country and the symbols of sovereignty were sacred and precious, and their sanctity, if attacked, must be dealt with strictly.

"People of Punjab and the Punjab Congress welcome the hanging, which should send a message loud and clear to everyone that such acts of assault on the country would be deemed as acts of war and dealt with accordingly," he said in a strongly worded statement.