MUZAFFARABAD: The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) on Friday announced its decision to intensify its worldwide campaigns to garner international supportfor the release of its incarcerated chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik.
A press statement was issued by the JKLF central information office following an emergency consultative meeting of the party’s central officebearers to discuss the situation arising from Mr Malik’s submission of a 25-page affidavit to an additional sessions court in Srinagar from Delhi’s Tihar jail. The affidavit concerned what the JKLF described as Mr Malik’s ‘false’ implication in the 36-year-old murder case of a Kashmiri Pandit woman.Mr Malik was named in June by India’s State Investigation Agency as one of five men charged with the killing of Sarla Bhat in 1990.
The affidavit said Mr Malik had decided not to contest the trial further, but highlighted that this decision should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the prosecution’s allegations, according to India’s NDTV.
He asked the court to award him ‘capital punishment’ in the case and also announced that he would end his marriage to his wife.
The online meeting was attended by acting party chairman Raja Haq Nawaz Khan; head of the JKLF Diplomatic Bureau Professor Raja Zafar Khan; Central Vice Chairman Saleem Haroon; Central Chief Organiser Sabir Gul; Central Secretary Finance KhawajaManzoor A. Chishti; Deputy Secretary General Javed Hanif; and Chief Spokesman Muhammad Rafiq Dar.
The JKLF leaders confirmed the authenticity of Mr Malik’s affidavit and expressedtheirresolve to stand by it, the statement said.
They also maintained that the factual details provided by Mr Malik about the Sarla Bhat murder case and the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community from Kashmir in 1990 were truthful.
However, they rejected the Indian investigative agencies’ allegations linking him to the case.
They announced their decision to intensify the party’s worldwide ‘Save Yasin Malik’ and ‘Justice for Yasin Malik’ campaigns to garner international support for his release.The leadership also appealed to world leaders and international human rights organisations to help safeguard the party chairman’s life and secure his release, saying that he was being victimised by the Indian government over his political beliefs.
Deep sympathies The party leadership expressed deep sympathies with Mr Malik’s wife, Mushaal Hussain Mullick, and his daughter, Razia Sultana, over what it described as the ‘painful decisions’ referred to in his affidavit, in view of his prolonged imprisonment and the perceived threat to his life.
‘The JKLF reaffirmed its commitment to seeking a peaceful and early resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with thewishes and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir through the exercise of their right to self-determination,’ the statement said.
In July, the JKLF condemned the Indian government’s decision to implicate the party chief, maintaining that neither Mr Malik nor the organisation had any connection with the case.
‘Humane approach’ Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called the news surrounding Mr Malik’s affidavit submission ‘very concerning’, particularly the JKLF chief’s decision not to contest the case further.
‘It calls for serious reflection on commitments made to him and reinforces the need for due process, fairness and a humane approach,’ hesaid in a post on X.
Mr Farooq stated in his post that he had been placed under house arrest by Indian authorities on Friday, although he had been slated to preside over an event in connection with Rabiul Awwal at Jama Masjid in Srinagar.
He noted that the event would also mark the release of a Kashmiri translation of the Holy Quran by Gulzar Ahmad Parray, as well as the congratulation of a young scholar for memorising the complete Sahih al-Bukhari.
‘The restrictions to prevent me, especially on Friday, to address the faithful at Jama Masjid and do my duty as Mirwaiz, though personally very painful, will not deter me from fulfilling my responsibilities and from raising people’s voice for their rights,’ he said.