Srinagar, Feb 20: Bailing out Government of India for the execution of Afzal Guru, former interlocutor on Kashmir Professor Radha Kumar Tuesday said the UPA Government just followed the Supreme Court verdict on the issue. She however admitted that Government of India was not serious in resolving Kashmir issue and has been taking people of Kashmir for a ride without realizing their miseries. “The execution of Afzal was unfortunate. But it was the will of the Supreme Court and the Central Government had no alternative but to follow the Court decision,” Radha Kumar told local news gathering agency CNS on phone from Brussels.
Kumar said she was shocked to learn that Government of India is not willing to hand over Afzal’s body to his family. “You can’t bury a person in the premises of jail on the pretext of law and order. Government of India did many things which can be termed unusual as far the execution of Afzal Guru was concerned. First of all it maintained secrecy and didn’t inform the family of Afzal; second it didn’t return the body to his family and third it ignored the people of Kashmir and forced them to remain in their houses. This amply shows that Central Government is not keen to heal the wounds of Kashmiri people,’’ she said, adding that she can say one thing with authority that India is not serious in resolving the Kashmir issue and is just buying time.
She accepted that hanging of Guru has hurt Kashmiri people and lot of alienation will prove counter-productive in future. “We (interlocutors) worked hard for a year in Kashmir but what was the ultimate result? I am disappointed the way Central Government has thrown our recommendations into the dust bin. I had thought that time the country was beset with so many issues and the Central Government will implement our main recommendations at an earliest but my hopes vanished when I fully realized that the engagement of interlocutors was a time-buying process,” Radha said and admitted that Central Government was never serious in addressing the problems of Kashmir.
-CNS
Kumar said she was shocked to learn that Government of India is not willing to hand over Afzal’s body to his family. “You can’t bury a person in the premises of jail on the pretext of law and order. Government of India did many things which can be termed unusual as far the execution of Afzal Guru was concerned. First of all it maintained secrecy and didn’t inform the family of Afzal; second it didn’t return the body to his family and third it ignored the people of Kashmir and forced them to remain in their houses. This amply shows that Central Government is not keen to heal the wounds of Kashmiri people,’’ she said, adding that she can say one thing with authority that India is not serious in resolving the Kashmir issue and is just buying time.
She accepted that hanging of Guru has hurt Kashmiri people and lot of alienation will prove counter-productive in future. “We (interlocutors) worked hard for a year in Kashmir but what was the ultimate result? I am disappointed the way Central Government has thrown our recommendations into the dust bin. I had thought that time the country was beset with so many issues and the Central Government will implement our main recommendations at an earliest but my hopes vanished when I fully realized that the engagement of interlocutors was a time-buying process,” Radha said and admitted that Central Government was never serious in addressing the problems of Kashmir.
-CNS
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