New Delhi, May 24 (IANS): Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Monday said that law of the land would decide the fate of parliament attack convict Afzal Guru, who has been on death row since 2002.

"I think there is a law of the land and there is a legal process. In the (Afzal Guru) case the law will take its course," Manmohan Singh told reporters here.

Asked if the delay in hanging the Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist from Jammu and Kashmir would label his government as soft, the prime minister said it was a matter of perception to call any state soft or hard and "perceptions can vary".

The 40-year-old convicted key plotter of the 2001 attack that killed 13 people in the high-security Indian parliament was sent to the death row in 2002. His sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court. The sentence was scheduled to be carried out on Oct 20, 2006, but his execution was stayed after his wife sought clemency from the president of India.