In a press statement by Pancholi and Haksar, the lawyers have said, "We would have preferred to have withdrawn quietly but due to subsequent events it is not possible to represent them any further."
Meanwhile, Pancholi told TOI, "We will continue to help Afzal's wife and son as human rights activists but not formally represent the family anymore." In the letter, the lawyers have elaborated on how they have been engaged with the Kashmir question since the 1990s and were part of fact finding teams which exposed human rights violations allegedly committed on the people of Kashmir in wake of the insurgency.
"Our stand was at the time and continues to be that the conflict in Kashmir must be settles in accordance with the wishes of the Kashmiri people. Innumerable statements given in our personal capacity... makes our stand clear," reads the statement.
The lawyers have also stated that they were never approached to represent Afzal at the time of his trial and were approached only after he was condemned to death. "[H]is wife approached us to write the mercy petitions on her behalf and later on his behalf we have represented Afzal. Without his vakalatnama we could not have visited him in jail."
The lawyers have said that after Afzal was hanged, his family members phoned them from Kashmir on the same day "asking for help." "In accordance with the wishes of the said family members we have asked the jail authorities for permission to visit Afzal's grave; and later his belongings and also for his body."
The lawyers also stated that they had made arrangements for the family's stay in Delhi after the family members requested them for the same. Stating that since the situation was volatile at this time, the lawyers had approached the Lok Sabha MP of the relevant constituency and contacted Kashmir house through him and the resident commissioner agreed to allot rooms for the family. "This was immediately conveyed to the said family members and they did not express any misgivings," read the statement.
The lawyers have also stated their stand on Afzal Guru, claiming that he did not get a fair trial and was "a victim of prejudice and injustice built into the criminal judicial processes." They have also strongly disagreed with the reasoning in the Supreme Court's judgment saying that Afzal Guru had to be hanged to 'satisfy the collective conscience of Indians.'
"We believe that the secret execution of Afzal without giving him the opportunity to meet with his family speaks volumes of the lack of humanity of the authorities. We believe that Afzal's family has the right to go to his grave if they wish; to get his belongings and to have his body."
Quoting the jail manual on rules related to the deposal of body of executed prisoners, the lawyers have expressed their shock alleging violation of the rule by not informing his family or his counsel before the execution. "In a democracy the Government cannot refuse to hand over the body on the ground that the people want to have a funeral procession."
The statement ends with the lawyers expressing their unhappiness with the Indian authorities' alleged undermining of the efforts to build bridges between Kashmiris and the rest of India. "We send our heartfelt condolences to them, especially his wife and son," the statement signs off.
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