JKLF leader raises concerns over new case against Yasin Malik

MIRPUR (AJK), Jul 1 (APP): A Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front’s (JKLF) Senior Leader has criticised fresh legal proceedings initiated against jailed Kashmiri Leader Mohammad Yasin Malik urging the international community to closely monitor the case.

Raja Muzaffar, a US-based senior JKLF (Yasin Malik faction) leader, said in a statement issued from Dallas, Texas, that he was concerned by the filing case by India’s Jammu and Kashmir State Investigation Agency (SIA). The chargesheet reportedly names Malik and others in connection with the 1990 abduction and killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat.

According to Muzaffar, citing media reports, the chargesheet was submitted before a special court in Srinagar after authorities reopened the decades-old investigation.

Muzaffar said he was concerned that the latest prosecution had proceeded despite legal arguments recently submitted by Malik in an affidavit.

He called for any criminal allegations against Malik to be examined through an independent, impartial and transparent judicial process that fully respects due process and internationally recognised fair trial standards.

Muzaffar, who also serves as a board director of South Asia Democracy Watch and coordinator of the Justice for Yasin Malik Campaign, expressed concern over Malik’s safety, health and legal rights while in custody.

He appealed to the United Nations, international human rights organisations, legal institutions and the wider international community to monitor the proceedings and ensure that judicial processes are conducted fairly and transparently.

“Political differences should never override the principles of justice,” Muzaffar said, adding that “the law must never become an instrument of political retaliation.”