Afzal kin meet Kalam, seek clemency

"The President assured us that he will go through our petition," says the wife of Mohd Afzal Guru who is facing death.

The family of Mohammed Afzal Guru, facing execution for his role in the 2001 attack on Parliament, on Thursday met President APJ Abdul Kalam and sought clemency for him.

HT Image

"The President assured us that he will go through our petition seeking clemency for Afzal," Guru's wife Tabassum told reporters after the 20-minute meeting with Kalam.

Tabassum, accompanied by her seven-year-old son Ghalib, Guru's mother Ayesha Begum and lawyers Nandita Haksar and ND Panchauli, expressed hope that justice would be done and her husband would be pardoned.

"This country claims to be a big democracy but Kashmiris do not get justice," she said but cut short her statement when a battery of media personnel sought clarifications on her remarks.

Asked why Guru had not filed a mercy petition himself, she said, "He lost all hope in the system when he did not receive justice either in the sessions court, the High Court or the Supreme Court."

"We informed the President that it was one-sided justice and the trial was not fair," she claimed.

Haksar, also a social activist, said the President had asked Ghalib about his future plans, to which he responded by saying that he wanted to become a doctor and this would be possible only if his father remained alive.

Ghalib showed no hesitation in making his irritation public about the constant media glare when Haksar tried to push him towards the mikes.