KL Report
SRINAGAR
National Conference Sunday said that PDP Patron and Ex-Home Minister of India, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed should get his facts right on Afzal Guru and stop lying brazenly to hide his guilt. NC Spokesman Junaid Azim Mattu said that if any two political parties are directly answerable for any questions on the Afzal Guru case it was the PDP within J&K and the Congress at the Center.
“These are white lies from Mufti Sahab to hide the complicity of his party. While PDP was in power, Afzal Guru was indicted, convicted as well as sentenced and his legal fight started and ended during the PDP tenure. At that time they turned a complete blind eye towards Afzal Guru’s case. Some facts need to be put on record for Mufti Sahab’s information. Afzal Guru was sentenced to death by the lower court in Delhi on the 18th of December, 2002. At that time Mufti Sahab was the Chief Minister of J&K and was in a coalition government with the Congress, which was also at power in the center. Neither Mufti Sahab nor PDP raised a voice at that point of time when it would have mattered. Then, between 2002 and 2005 Afzal Guru’s case was heard and taken up on various instances and Mufti Sahab was still the Chief Minister of J&K – again not a single statement was made for Afzal Guru. In 2005, the Supreme Court upheld the Death Sentence to Afzal Guru and again Mufti Sahab as the Chief Minister of J&K remained on mute mode and was silenced into submission due to his insatiable hunger for the chair”, the NC Spokesman Junaid Mattu said.
The NC Spokesman said that PDP while in Government did absolutely nothing to ensure fair legal support and representation to Afzal Guru despite repeated demands by civil society and legal rights groups that Guru be given just, competent and fair legal representation. “What was Mufti Sahab doing for all this while when as the Chief Minister of J&K his conspicuous political resentment would have mattered? He was in a coalition government with Congress and Congress was at power in the Center. What made Mufti Sahab turn a blind eye towards Afzal Guru? What where his compulsions? As always – with all questions that are raised about Mufti Sayeed’s brutal politics – PDP won’t answer these questions but will remain silent and that is understandable. The party has no possible explanation”, the NC Spokesman further added.
“When the PDP was in opposition they went on to ensure that the Legislative Assembly is constantly disrupted whenever there was a perception that the Afzal Guru issue might be raised and discussed. Why didn’t PDP come forward and offer legislative support to a demand to commute Afzal Guru’s death sentence to a life sentence? Again – even in opposition Mufti Sahab had a new set of compulsions – One, he was complicit in the perception that Afzal Guru didn’t get fair legal representation and Two, while in opposition PDP did not want to ruffle any feather in New Delhi that would ruin their chances of political rehabilitation”, the NC Spokesman said while lashing out at Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and PDP for trying to hunt with the hound and run with hare.
