Afzal Guru should ‘pay price’, says Farooq Abdullah

Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru should “pay the price” for attacking India, union New and Renewable Energy Minister and former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Farooq Abdullah said Saturday.

“Anyone who attacks India should pay the price for it,” Farooq Abdullah, president of the state’s ruling National Conference (NC), said in reply to a reporter’s question on Afzal Guru.

However, even as the elder Abdullah indicated strong action against Afzal Guru his son and Chief Minister Omar Abdullah favours clemency for Guru, as he believes Guru’s hanging may once again revive militancy at a time when it is down.

Convicted of conspiracy in the December 2001 parliament attack, Afzal was sentenced to death by the Supreme Court in 2004. His mercy petition is pending before the president.