Kashmir protests feared after execution

Mohammad Afzal Guru convicted for his part in the 2001 attack on India’s parliament has been executed. A plea for mercy was refused by the president. Guru had been on death row since 2002. India’s Home Minister Sushil Kumar Shinde confirmed the hanging. Some Kasmiri leaders warned it would fuel a Muslim separatist revolt. In Indian Kashmir security has been boosted amid fears of violence and a curfew imposed in some areas. Since 1989 tens of thousands of people have been killed in the Himalayan region in action against Indian rule. One local resident Imtiyaz Ahmad reacted to the news of the execution. “We heard early this morning that Afzal Guru has been hanged. What has happened is wrong. We were anticipating that the situation would improve but now we anticipate the situation might turn ugly,” he said. The attack on the Indian parliament was one of the worst in the country’s post-independence history. Five militants who India claimed were backed by Pakistan stormed the complex armed with guns, grenades and explosives. They and ten others were killed. Guru was convicted of helping to organise arms for the attackers. Pakistan denied any involvement while Guru maintained his innocence.