JKLF, Yasin Malik'in 1990 cinayetiyle ilişkilendirilmesini reddetti

Occupied Kashmir's JKLF condemns 'false' linking of its chairman to 1990 murder of Kashmiri Pandit woman

MUZAFFARABAD: The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) on Friday strongly condemned what it described as an attempt by Indian authorities to falsely implicate its incarcerated chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a 36-year-old murder case involving a Kashmiri Pandit woman. Malik was named in June by India’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) as one of five men charged for the killing of Sarla Bhat, who was killed in 1990. According to a press release issued by the JKLF’s central information office, the party leadership expressed serious concern over Malik’s implication in the murder case. The statement followed an emergency consultative meeting of the party’s central office-bearers to discuss the situation arising from Malik’s submission of a 25-page affidavit to an additional sessions court in Srinagar from Delhi’s Tihar Jail. The online meeting was attended by the 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 Khawaja Manzoor A. Chishti, Deputy Secretary General Javed Hanif and Chief Spokesman Muhammad Rafiq Dar. The JKLF leaders confirmed the authenticity of Malik’s affidavit and expressed their resolve to stand by it, the statement said. They also maintained that the details provided by the chairman about the murder case and the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community from Kashmir in 1990 were truthful, and rejected the Indian investigative agencies’ allegations linking him to the case. The JKLF announced its decision to intensify its 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, alleging that he was being victimised by the Indian government over his political beliefs. The party leadership expressed deep sympathies with Malik’s wife and daughter over what it described as the “painful decisions” referred to in his affidavit, in view of his prolonged imprisonment and perceived threat to his life. “The JKLF reaffirmed its commitment to seeking a peaceful and early resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes 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 Malik nor the organisation had any connection with the case. Mirwaiz calls for reflection, humane approach Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq called the news surrounding 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,” he said in a post on X. Earlier, in 2017, the Indian Supreme Court had declined to reopen several Kashmiri Pandit murder cases, citing that the mass killings took place nearly three decades prior, and it was difficult to gather reliable evidence and witnesses, the Indian Express reported. In 2023, Kashmiri pandit groups approached former lieutenant governor of India-held Kashmir Manoj Sinha, who directed the police to prepare a list of killings from the 1990s. The Sarla Bhat case was subsequently transferred to the SIA in March 2024 for a fresh probe, according to the Hindustan Times.