Ahead of J&K polls, Omar Abdullah sparks row with his view on Afzal Guru's hanging: 'Served no purpose'

Omar Abdullah said that the Jammu-Kashmir government would not have approved the hanging of Afzal Guru, convicted of the 2001 Parliament attack.

Published on: Sep 6, 2024, 20:26:40 IST

By HT News Desk

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Former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Omar Abdullah on Friday sparked a political row after he said that the execution of Afzal Guru, convicted in the 2001 Parliament attack, did not serve any purpose. He also said that the Jammu-Kashmir government would not have granted approval for the same if it was required in Guru's hanging.

NCvice-president Omar Abdullah during an interaction in Srinagar. (ANI) (HT_PRINT)

While speaking to news agency ANI, NC vice-president Omar Abdullah clarified that the Jammu and Kashmir government had no involvement in the hanging of Afzal Guru, and said that it “served no purpose.”

"The unfortunate thing was that the J-K government had nothing to do with Afzal Guru's execution. Otherwise, you would have had to do it with the permission of the state government, which I can tell you in no uncertain terms would not have been forthcoming. We wouldn't have done it. I don't believe that any purpose was served by executing him," Abdullah said.

Justifying his stance, the former CM said he was against capital punishment and “doesn't believe in the infallibility of courts.” He said, “Evidence has shown us time and time again, may not be in India but in other countries, where you have executed people and found that you are wrong.”

Read more: Omar Abdullah on ‘compromise’ for Congress alliance: ‘Too important to let…’

Reacting to Omar Abdullah's statement, BJP leader Sajid Yousuf said that Afzal Guru's hanging was a necessary step towards delivering justice for the people of Jammu and Kashmir.

The Congress party, which is contesting the J-K polls in alliance with NC, distanced itself from Abdullah's remarks. “Why are we discussing it here? It's election time. People give statements. I don't want to comment upon it here,” said Congress leader Salman Khurshid, reluctant to take a stance on the matter.

This comes after Afzal Guru's brother Ajaz Ahmad Guru announced that he will contest the Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections, the first polls held in the union territory since the abrogation of Article 370.

The Jammu and Kashmir assembly elections are set to be held in three phases, starting from September 18. The counting of the votes will take place on October 8.

(With inputs from ANI)

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