Srinagar, Feb 9: Born in a well off family of Seer Jagir, the hamlet three kilometers away from north Kashmir’s apple town Sopore, Afzal Guru lost his father, Habibullah Guru in his childhood.
After passing matriculation and class 12th examination from High School Doabgah and Higher Secondary School Sopore respectively, Afzal, in 1988, joined Jehlum Valley Medical College (JVC) of medical sciences now known as SKIMS medical college for pursuing MBBS.
But fate had something else in store for him. As thousands of Kashmiris crossed Line of Control (LoC) for arms training in 1989, Afzal followed the trend and left his medical degree half-way. But later he lived a peaceful life on returning from Pakistan Administered Kashmir.
After completing his graduation from Delhi University through distance mode, Guru had short stint with the Bank of America. Later, he married Tabasum of Azad Gunj Baramulla. With responsibilities falling on his shoulders, Afzal took up a job with a pharmaceutical firm and worked as its area manager.
Afzal, according to his relatives, was continuously persecuted by forces including Army’s Rashtriya Rifles and erstwhile Special Task Force of Jammu and Kashmir Police for being former militant. In 1999, the Guru couple had a son and was named Ghalib.
Following Afzal’s arrest in 2001, Afzal’s family went through endless ordeal. During his trial, Guru’s younger brother Reyaz died. Five months ago, his mother Ayesha also died due to illness.

Lastupdate on : Sat, 9 Feb 2013 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Sat, 9 Feb 2013 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Sun, 10 Feb 2013 00:00:00 IST