Author: Neeta Sharma
Publication: The Hindustan Times
Date: December 21, 2001
"Given a chance, I would do
it again. I have no qualms," says 30-year-old Afzal the main co-ordinator
for Jaish-e-Mohammad in Delhi.
Despite the fact that he has been
arrested for helping the militants in executing an attack on the seat of
Indian democracy, he claims that his conscience does not prick as he does
not have one.
"If I had a conscience I would have
not done what I have been charged for," he said, talking to the Hindustan
Times.
Sitting in the Special Cell lock-up
sipping tea, he remembers his wife and baby boy and says, "I also have
a family - a wife and child - but I am not sure if they will accept me
now."
"I am not a hardened militant like
the jehadis. I did it for money," confesses Afzal a resident of Sopore,
Baramulla (J&K). While recalling his past, he lingers on his school
days at Sopore.
According to him, he came to Delhi
and moved in with his cousin, Shaukat Hussain Guru, in Mukherjee Nagar.
"I completed my graduation through
correspondence from Delhi University. After that I became a commission
agent for surgical equipment in Srinagar and used to visit Delhi regularly
for business purposes," he added.
According to him, he was contacted
by a Jaish-e-Mohammad scout Tariq, who is also a close associate of the
Jaish Supreme Commander in India, Ghazi Baba alias Doctor. Ghazi Baba brainwashed
Afzal and convinced him to work for Jaish.
Shaukat, his cousin, lays all the
blame on Afzal. "I was incited to join in their gameplan by Afzal. They
promised me that there was a lot of money in it," he said.
"Since I had no job in hand, I was
led astray," he adds.
According to him, his wife, Afsan
kept him informed about all the new developments of the day when he was
on his way to Jammu, he said.
Meanwhile, 32-year-old Afsan says
that initially she tried to prevent her husband from going down the path
to disaster, but he never listened to her. "I am a woman. What could I
have done?" she says with a hint of regret.
According to her, she was aware
about her husband's sinister plans all along. "Meetings used to take place
at our residence often," she adds.
