Just 95 minutes before his hanging, Afzal Guru wrote to his family requesting not to bemoan his death but respect the stature he has attained.
Putting all speculations to rest, Guru’s family released the letter, written in Urdu, on Sunday, eight days after he was hanged in Tihar jail.
In his letter addressed to his family and the “faithfuls”, Guru wrote: “Thanks to Almighty Allah who has chosen me for this stature. I congratulate all the faithfuls who sided with truth and righteousness. Let the afterlife be the end for our means to truth and righteousness.”
He also mentioned the time and date on top of the page which suggested that he had penned it at 6.25 am, 95 minutes before he was hanged in Tihar Jail on February 9.
The convict in the Parliament house attack requested his family members not to regret his death but respect the position he has attained. “I request my family members that instead of regretting my death, they should respect this stature,”reads the translation of Guru’s letter.
At the end of his letter, he has prayed to God for protection and help (to his family and the believers). He ended his letter with ‘Allah Hafiz’ (Allah is your protector).
Family sources said when Guru was told that his mercy petition had been rejected and he was to be hanged, he asked the jail officials for a pen and paper so that he could write a few words for his family.
He handed over the letter to the jail officials with a request to send it to the family after his death. Accordingly, the superintendent of jail (No 3) Tihar posted the letter to his wife which they received some days ago.
Family sources said since they were mourning, they could not release the letter immediately. During this period, the media resorted to speculations which complicated the matters for the family at Seer Jagir village of Sopore.
“Therefore we decided to put an end to the speculations by releasing the letter to the media,” said a member of Guru’s family.
The letter was released on the day when the architect of `Save Afzal Guru’ resolution and independent MLA from Langate, Sheikh Abdul Rasheed aka Engineer Rasheed, proposed naming the historic Lal Chowk as Afzal Guru Chowk. He also announced to move a resolution in the forthcoming assembly session seeking the remains of Afzal Guru from Tihar.
–Agencies