Yasin Malik Claims He Briefed Then PM Manmohan Singh After Hafiz Saeed Meeting, Calls Case ‘Betrayal’
Srinagar, Sep 19: Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik has told the Delhi High Court that his 2006 meeting with Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan was held at the request of India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB), and that he later briefed then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and National Security Advisor N.K. Narayanan about it.
Malik, who is serving a life sentence in a terror-funding case, filed an affidavit claiming the meeting, which also involved other leaders, was part of efforts to advance peace talks. He alleged that the same meeting was later “distorted” to brand him a terrorist.
“Despite working to strengthen the peace table, my meeting was later twisted. It is a case of classic betrayal,” Malik said.
He further alleged that the 2006 meeting was shown out of context after the abrogation of Article 370 and 35A to justify invoking the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) against him.
Malik also declared in his affidavit that he is prepared to face the death penalty if imposed.
“If my death finally gives respite to some, let it be so. I shall go with a smile, with pride and honour on my face,” he wrote, likening himself to Kashmiri separatist leader Maqbool Bhat, who was executed in 1984.
The affidavit comes as the Delhi High Court hears the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) appeal seeking enhancement of Malik’s life sentence to capital punishment in the 2017 terror-funding case. The bench has directed him to file his reply by November 10.
Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 after pleading guilty under UAPA. The trial court had observed that the case did not fall under the “rarest of rare” category warranting the death penalty.
The NIA has accused Malik and others, including Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, and Shabbir Shah, of conspiring with Pakistan-based groups to fuel unrest in Kashmir. Earlier this year, a tribunal extended the ban on JKLF for another five years, ruling that no tolerance can be shown to organisations advocating secessionism.
