NEW DELHI, Sept 29: All political outfits in Jammu and Kashmir barring the far right Hindutva groups were united on Friday in seeking the presidential pardon for Mohammed Afzal, a Kashmiri man ordered by a Delhi court to be hanged on Oct 20.

Even as anti-India resistance groups clashed with police after Friday prayers in Srinagar against the court order, pro-Delhi politicians of Jammu and Kashmir, including Chief Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad and his ally Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti led the demand that Mohammad Afzal Guru, convicted for the 2001 attack on Parliament, be pardoned.

Mr Azad has asked Prime Minister Manmohan Singh to intervene to get a presidential pardon for Guru, highly placed official sources told Press Trust of India.. Guru’s hanging on Oct 20 would coincide with Jumat-ul-Vida (the last Friday of Ramzan) and this would not be a good signal to Kashmir’s Muslims, Mr Azad told the prime minister.

He cited public sentiments in the Kashmir Valley and requested Dr Singh to use his good offices to obtain presidential clemency for Guru. Ms Mufti, whose PDP is part of the ruling coalition, called for a review of Guru’s death sentence. She said it could affect the peace process in Kashmir.

Former chief minister Farooq Abdullah said Guru’s hanging could create further unrest.