Kashmiri Militant-Turned-Politician Yasin Malik Convicted of Waging War Against India

Yasin Malik was a top commander of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a militant group advocating for Kashmir’s independence. In 1994, the JKLF formalised a ceasefire with the Indian government, but continued its activism. The group was banned after the 2019 Pulwama suicide bombing, which left 40 Indian security personnel dead.

A Delhi court on Thursday convicted former Kashmiri militant-turned-politician Yasin Malik on charges of waging war against India.

It was a case related to the alleged funding of terrorism in the Kashmir region. Other cases in which he is named are yet to reach their conclusion.

Earlier this month, Malik told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him, which included terrorism, raising funds for terror acts, being member of a terrorist organisation, and other sections of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA).

The court's verdict came days after Malik, who is lodged in Delhi’s Tihar jail, pleaded guilty to the charges levelled against him by the country's National Investigation Agency (NIA).

According to the judgment, a copy of which is with Sputnik, Malik was given time to rethink his guilty plea owing to the fact he was representing himself in the court, and had no legal assistance.

“...Thus, I find that accused Yasin Malik has voluntarily and after due legal consultation, meaning thereby after fully knowing the consequences of his plea, has pleaded guilty to the charges framed against him. His plea is accordingly accepted”, read the court judgment quoting Special Judge (NIA) Praveen Singh.

Meanwhile, Mushaal Malik, Yasin's wife who lives in Pakistan, took to twitter and said the Indian government would regret its move.

She accused the Indian government of not allowing Malik, a “political prisoner”, to speak.

In Jammu, senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) politician Devender Singh Rana, while speaking to reporters, welcomed the court's decision and demanded a severe punishment for Yasin Malik.

The court will hear the arguments on the quantum of sentence on 25 May.

Malik's Relation With Kashmir Insurgency

Malik was among the first batch of locals to join the anti-India insurgency in 1989. He was later imprisoned in various jails of India before he renounced violence.

Local police and the NIA intensified multiple investigations into Malik, including in those cases filed during the peak of the insurgency in early 1990s, which includes the killing of four officials of the Indian Air Force in Srinagar.

After agreeing to a ceasefire with the federal government in 1994, the JKLF operates as a political group seeking the Right to Self Determination in both the Indian and Pakistani administered parts of Kashmir.

India and Pakistan have fought three wars over Kashmir since gaining independence from Britain in 1947. Although both Delhi and Islamabad claim Kashmir in full, each one controls only parts of its territories, recognised internationally as Indian-administered Kashmir and Pakistan-administered Kashmir.

Malik is the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a grouping that advocates for the Kashmir region's independence from India.

In 2019, when the Pulwama suicide bomber attack occurred, the Indian Home Ministry blamed Pakistan-based militant group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).

The suicide bombing triggered a massive reaction from the government of India, which made several policy decisions that officials at the time said were aimed at curbing violence and separatist activities in the region. Among the steps were banning political and social groups that the federal government said were furthering a separatist agenda and violence in the region.

The JKLF, even though not involved in insurgency, supports Kashmir's right to self-determination. The group was banned by the federal government, as was Jamaat-e-Islami, a socio-religious organisation that was accused of providing logistical support to militant groups. The JKLF was also accused of supporting militant groups ideologically and logistically. Malik and some of his associates were subsequently arrested.

Meanwhile, in light of Thursday's judgement convicting Malik, authorities in Srinagar are on alert to avoid any untoward incidents or violent protests.

A senior police official said that the situation in Kashmir remains under control, but authorities will be on a “strict lookout” for mischievous elements.