Pak media plays down hanging

The hanging of Afzal Guru received scant attention in Pakistan with most media channels not even running the story in their hourly headlines, Imtiaz Ahmad reports.

The hanging of Afzal Guru received scant attention in Pakistan with most media channels not even running the story in their hourly headlines. There was also mild protest from the public with a handful of religious parties and organisations issuing press releases condemning the execution.

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The right wing Jamaat-e-Islami party issued a statement that Guru “was a fighter and a hero and his death was a sad day for all those who want freedom in Kashmir.” Most mainstream parties did not comment on the hanging.

A hunger strike was initiated by JKLF activists outside the National Press Club in Islamabad while the Pakistan foreign office also refused to comment.

Even after the hanging of terrorist Ajmal Kasab and the sentencing of David Headley, there was low-key reaction from Pakistan with mild protests.

Some protests were held by the Jamaat-e-Islami and the Jamat-ud-Dawah (JuD) in Muzaffarabad in POK but these too were half-hearted and drew very few people, said observers.

However, agencies reported that some 400 protesters gathered in Muzaffarabad, burning Indian flags and shouting slogans.

Pasban-e-Hurriyat chief Uzair Ahmad Ghazali condemned the hanging and announced that his supporters would stage a sit-in in front of the United Nations office in Muzaffarabad on Monday.

Meanwhile, the government of Pakistan-occupied Kashmir announced three days of mourning across the state.