The other side of Afzal's surrender

Among the many questions doing the rounds with regard to Mohammad Afzal, accused in Parliament attack case, a crucial one is: Was he a surrendered militant?

"Yes," he insists. In letters that he is supposed to have written to his lawyer, Afzal said he was regularly tortured by the Kashmir Special Task Force (STF). And those arguing in his favour insist that the STF used his militant past to make him a scapegoat in the Parliament attack case.
But investigations conducted by CNN-IBN’s Special Investigation Team, revealed that Afzal may have never surrendered.

"Till now, they don’t know who attacked Parliament. Who were those five people who were inside and got killed? Mr (L K) Advani, who was the Union Home Minister at that point of time, said that they looked like Pakistanis. They are Pakistanis. I say that Mr Advani looks like a Pakistani and Musharaff looks like an Indian to me. So, this is no proof," says S A R Geelani, a Delhi University lecturer who was acquitted in the case.

Geelani has joined those who are opposing the death sentence given to Afzal. Veteran Gandhian Nirmala Despande wrote to President APJ Abdul Kalam, saying that many questions remain unanswered with regard to Afzal’s trial. Those who question the fairness of Afzal's trial, point to some letters Afzal reportedly wrote to give his version of the story.

But then, do those campaigning for Afzal's clemency have all the facts before them? Are they sure that the contents of Afzal's letters are true? CNN-IBN Special Investigation Team found out that some crucial details are missing from Afzal's letters.

On the question of his past, Afzal does say that he is a surrendered militant. So does the Delhi Police and the Supreme Court. But his elder brother says he never surrendered.