Afzal Guru’s brother to contest J&K polls from Sopore seat

Srinagar, Sep 10 : The brother of Parliament convict Afzal Guru has decided to fight the J&K Assembly elections from the north Kashmir Sopore constituency.

Ajaz Ahmad Guru, brother of Afzal Guru, will contest the Assembly elections as an Independent from the Sopore Assembly seat.

He took voluntary retirement from the J&K government's Animal Husbandry Department in 2014 and has been working as a contractor since then.

“I will submit my nomination papers for the Sopore Assembly seat today or tomorrow,” he said. Thursday (September 12) is the last day for filing nominations for the Sopore Assembly seat.

He told reporters, “When everyone is contesting elections, why shouldn’t I? I have a different ideology from my brother, but I will fight for those youth who have been arrested in fabricated cases by police, including my son, Shoiab who was arrested nine months ago by police in a fabricated case.”

“When Engineer Rashid’s son, Abrar Rashid campaigned for his father. Why can’t I speak for my son who is studying in Pune? I will prove my son didn’t do anything wrong,” he added.

He said he will not only champion his son’s case but also all other "innocent people who are in jail on false charges".

Afzal Guru was hanged in Tihar jail on February 9, 2013, after being convicted for the 2001 Parliament attack.

His mortal remains were buried inside the jail complex and not handed to the family. His wife, Afshan Guru lives separately in Baramulla town.

“Since my ideology is different, I will not seek votes in the name of my brother. It is my belief that every political leader has betrayed the people of Kashmir. Some in the name of 'Azadi', some self-rule and some did it in the name of autonomy”, Ajaz Guru said.

Sopore has been represented in the J&K legislative Assembly thrice by hardline separatist leader, Syed Ali Shah Geelani till the Jamaat-e-Islami boycotted elections at the beginning of the terror violence in the state in 1990.

The constituency has been considered the hotbed of separatist sentiment in Kashmir. In the Lok Sabha elections, however, Sopore voters registered 44 per cent voter turnout.

Jamaat has also fielded its ex-members in south Kashmir districts since the organisation cannot as such participate in elections because it was banned in 2019 by the Union Home Ministry.