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Kashmiri group in US seeks clemency for Afzal
The Kashmiri separatists group appeals for mercy for Afzal for the "sake of peace and stability in South Asia."
A US-based group of Kashmiri separatists has launched a campaign seeking the international community's help to press for clemency for Mohammed Afzal, who is to be hanged for his role in the 2001 terror attack on the Indian parliament.
In a conference in Spain, Ghulam Nabi Fai, executive director of the Washington-based Kashmir American Council, appealed for mercy for Afzal for the "sake of peace and stability in the region of South Asia."
He was addressing a gathering at the International Conference on Atlantic Studies in Spain organised by the Galizan Institute for International Security and Peace Studies, Galiza, Spain.
His paper focused on alleged human rights violations in Kashmir and the urgent need to resolve it for the sake of peace in South Asia.
A Delhi court has fixed October 20 for the execution of Afzal, found guilty of hatching a conspiracy that led to the attack on parliament five years ago.
His family has filed a mercy petition with President APJ Kalam.
Rashtrapati Bhavan sources said the execution may be postponed.
"It is an automatic procedure. When a mercy petition is received by the president and subsequently forwarded to the home ministry, the government will have to put off the hanging," said a senior official.
"Now, the ministry will examine the merits of the petition and accordingly advise the president on what should be the next course of action and whether Afzal's petition should be considered sympathetically."
