Delhi Court, on Wednesday, announced its verdict regarding the quantum of punishment for Yasin Malik, who was convicted of all charges against him, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) last week. The bench has decided to punish Yasin malik with life imprisonment along with ₹10 lakh as a fine.
Ahead of the court verdict, parts of Srinagar were shut down, although public transport was undisturbed and roads were also open. Paramilitary and police have been deployed in full strength, in order to be equipped to control any unrest.
On May 19, Delhi Court had announced Kashmiri separatist leader Muhammad Yasin Malik guilty of all charges against him, including those under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). Malik had been booked for a case related to alleged terrorism and secessionist activities in the Kashmir valley in 2017. The court has scheduled a hearing for Malik’s quantum of punishment for May 25.
Yasin Malik, the chairman of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), has been lodged in Tihar Jail since 2019, under several charges related to terrorism including being a member of the terrorist organization. It was only on May 10, that Malik finally plead guilty to all the charges in front of the Delhi court.
Earlier this week, Pakistan’s government said that the charges against Yasin Malik. were made-up and that it had issued summons to the Indian envoy over the matter. Pakistan called the charges against the Hurriyat leader ‘fabricated’ and said that their country strongly condemned such false accusations. As such the country’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has handed over a demarche to Indian charge d’affaires, explaining their stand against Malik’s framed charges.
When this appeal was not entertained by India, Pakistan’s Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif himself yesterday posted in support of Yasin Malik. He said, “World should take note of Indian govt’s mistreatment of political prisoners in IIOJK. Conviction of prominent Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik on fake terrorism charges is futile effort 2 silence voices critical of India’s blatant human rights abuses. Modi regime must b held 2 account.”
The National Investigation Agency (NIA), on the other hand, had earlier today sought the death penalty for Malik.
