No reason to be 'ashamed of Dec 13', says 'Afzal letter'

Over a fortnight after Afzal Guru was hanged, an Urdu weekly here has published a letter purportedly written by the Parliament attack convict, in which he tells Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin not to be "ashamed of December 13".

The Parliament attack took place on December 13, 2001.

While the weekly, Qaumi Waqar, claimed that its editor, Shabnum Qayoom, had received the letter through ordinary post three years ago, it has been made public only now.

Telling Salahuddin to stop terming the attack as a "conspiracy", the purported letter says: "Why should we be ashamed of December 13 when India is not ashamed of spilling the blood of innocent Kashmiris... If the Hizbul chief has love and concern for me, he should pray for my martyrdom.

"If December 13 is a wound on the heart of India, who will account for the wounds and injuries that the Indian forces have given to the people of Kashmir? It is cowardice and treason to forget the humiliation faced by our elders, sisters and daughters," it says.

"As far as the poor people of India are concerned, they are our brothers. We, in the past and even today, see as terrorism the blasts carried out on roads, inside buses or at public places," it adds.

Qayoom, meanwhile, maintained that Afzal was innocent and had written the letter to "become a martyr".

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