'Constitutional process not followed in hanging Afzal Guru'

Jammu: A group of legislators of the ruling PDP on Monday issued a statement saying the constitutional process was not followed in hanging parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.

"The PDP has always maintained that late Afzal Guru's hanging was travesty of justice and constitutional requirements/process was not followed in hanging him out of turn," said an official statement issued by the Peoples Democratic Party MLAs.

"The way he was picked up from serial number 28 and singled out has been condemned by the PDP and it stands by the demand for return of his mortal remains."

The legislators included Muhammad Khalil Bandh, Zahoor Ahmad Mir, Raja Manzoor Ahmad, Muhammad Abbas Wani, Yawar Dilawar Mir, Muhammad Yusuf, Aijaz Ahmad Mir and Noor Muhammad Sheikh.

Afzal Guru was given the death penalty in the 2001 parliament attack case, and was hanged on February 9, 2013.

"We believe that the resolution brought by Engineer Rashid to seek clemency for late Afzal Guru was justified and should have been adopted by the house at that time," it said.

The statement came a day after the PDP-BJP alliance government headed by Mufti Muhammad Sayeed took charge in Jammu and Kashmir.

Meanwhile, former chief minister Omar Abdullah questioned the PDP's motive.

"If @jkpdp truly believed they wanted to work to bring back Guru's remains they would have fought to include it in the CMP, which they didn't," he tweeted.

"So @jkpdp brought out its big guns, cynically used #AfzalGuru by giving Eng Rashid a signed statement & still LOST the election. #Hahahahaha," Abdullah said in another tweet.