How Afzal turned into a bookworm

NEW DELHI: Living in a dingy room in Tihar jail, awaiting his death sentence, Mohammed Afzal, the alleged Jaish-e-Mohammed mastermind involved in carrying out an attack on Parliament in 2001, has not only turned religious. He has also asked for over ten different books on Kashmir dispute to understand the boiling issue better.

Since Afzal is in the high security ward of the jail and authorities do not allow inmates of this particular ward to mingle with other inmates, Afzal has made good use of his time and has completed reading the holy Quran thrice.

"He is reading the Quran for the fourth time and is about to complete it," said a senior official of Tihar Jail, the biggest jail of India, which is home to over 14,000 inmates.

"Recently, he had sent us an application asking for ten different books on the Kashmir issue. He wants to read about the dispute to understand the problem better. We have already provided him with these books," the official added.

The official added that since inmates of the high-security prison do not have the facility to watch television or indulge in other recreational activities and are also not allowed to speak to other inmates of prison, the request of the soft-spoken Afzal was not only accepted but he was also told that he would be given more books if he wished so.