Hurriyat set to intensify demand for Afzal's body

Moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference on Saturday reiterated the demand for return of mortal remains of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru failing which it would intensify the agitation over the issue.

The executive council of the Hurriyat which met here under the leadership of its chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq alleged that Afzal’s execution was based on political considerations.

“The Government of India hanged Afzal to satisfy the collective conscience of people of India. But the incident will remain as an unforgettable collective memory for Kashmir and Kashmiris. Afzal’s hanging has provided a new wave of energy to the freedom struggle,” Mirwaiz said and added New Delhi, which claims to be a secular country, even refused to return the body of Afzal.

“Our demand was Afzal’s body should be returned so that we could bury him in his native place. But this too was turned down. We ask New Delhi what kind of judiciary it has and what is the kind of Constitution it follows?” Mirwaiz said, asserting that the Hurriyat will continue to demand the body of Afzal.

“The meeting decided that the Hurriyat would step-up its efforts to highlight the Kashmir dispute at the global level and in this regard letters would be dispatched to the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation and the European Union, seeking their role for its settlement,” a spokesperson of the separatists amalgam said in a statement.