NEW DELHI, Oct 19: The hanging of a Kashmiri man convicted for his role in the 2001 attack on India’s parliament has been put off until a decision on a mercy petition filed by his wife, an official said on Thursday.
Mohammed Afzal sentenced to death for his part in the attack which brought nuclear-armed India and Pakistan to the brink of a fourth war, was due to be hanged at 6 a.m. on Friday.
“Since his petition is pending before the president, the hanging will not take place tomorrow,” Onkarmal Kedia, spokesman of India’s home (interior) ministry, told Reuters.
Under Indian law, the president can pardon people sentenced to die, but in the past, not many mercy petitions have been granted.
Kashmiri leaders have said the execution would fuel a Muslim separatist revolt in the Himalayan region.
Separately, Afzal’s lawyers said they will approach the Supreme Court in a final attempt to prevent the execution, arguing his conviction was flawed.
The five gunmen who stormed parliament were all shot dead, while ten other people died in the siege.—Reuters
