Sufi Diplomacy: Last-Minute Efforts to Save Indian Nurse from Execution in Yemen

In a dramatic bid to save Indian nurse Nimisha Priya from execution, influential Sunni leader Kanthapuram A P Aboobacker Musliyar is overseeing last-minute efforts in Yemen, led by a prominent Sufi scholar. Scheduled for July 16, the execution has stirred the intervention of high-profile religious figures.

The family of the Yemeni victim, Talal Abdo Mahdi, has agreed to meet representatives of Sufi leader Sheikh Habib Umar bin Hafiz. The meeting in Dhamar comes after intervention from Kanthapuram and holds the potential to delay the execution by negotiating blood money.

Attorney General R Venkataramani informed India's Supreme Court that the government is doing its utmost, including engaging with influential sheikhs in Yemen. Meanwhile, the nurse remains imprisoned as diplomatic efforts intensify to achieve a temporary deferment of her execution.

(With inputs from agencies.)