No protests in Kashmir on 'World Day against Death Penalty

Srinagar, Oct 10 (UNI) No protests were witnessed in the Kashmir valley today on the 'World Day against Death Penalty' which otherwise had been boiling since the past two weeks after a Delhi court fixed October 20 as the date for hanging Mohammad Afzal Guru, convicted in the December 13, 2001 parliament attack case.

Kashmir has seen protests, most of the time violent, almost everyday since the Delhi court ordered to hang till death Guru.

No separatist group protested on the streets of Kashmir today.

The Jammu and Kashmir Liberation (JKLF), the 'Dukhtaran-e-Millat (Daughters of Faith)', both factions of the Hurriyat Conference besides the Kashmir Bar Association and the Traders Federation have been protesting almost every day against the death order.

None of these organisations resorted to any sort of agitation today as human rights activists across the globe observed the 'World Day Against the Death Penalty' by calling for a world without executions.

However, a token protest was seen in the Kashmir University where students boycotted classes and demonstrated within the campus only.

The students demanded that the death sentence to Guru be revoked and sought an ''open and fair'' trial in the case.

The day was organised by the World Coalition Against the Death Penalty in the country in the backdrop of the intense debate for and against the mercy petition filed by the family of Guru, who is awaiting execution in Tihar Jail.

Meanwhile, a Raj Bhavan spokesman tonight said Jammu and Kashmir Governor Lt Gen (Retd) S K Sinha was not forced to cancel his participation in a function organised by the Indian Red Cross at the Gandhi Bhawan in the Kashmir University because of protests within the campus. He said the Governor was scheduled to leave for Bhubaneswar and as such had expressed his unwillingness to attend the function.

Gen Sinha was not forced to cancel his programme in the University because of protests, the spokesman said.

UNI