Yasin Malik says he has no faith in Indian courts, refuses to pursue case further

Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik has said he has no expectations of justice from Indian courts and will accept even a death sentence, but stressed that doing so would not amount to an admission of guilt. Malik submitted a 25-page affidavit to a court in Srinagar, in which he categorically denied involvement in the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit woman Sarla Bhat and said he would no longer pursue his case. According to the affidavit, Malik said he was refusing to further contest the case in protest against what he described as political victimisation and was leaving his matter to God. He alleged that the Indian government was conspiring to implicate him in a false case and seek his execution 36 years after the alleged incident. Malik also challenged the basis on which he was linked to the case, referring to an alleged Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) note reportedly recovered near Bhat’s body. In his affidavit, Malik alleged that Indian investigative agencies had asked him to develop relations with Pakistan but later used the matter as evidence against him. He maintained that the proceedings were politically motivated and said he did not expect a fair trial from the Indian judicial system. Malik also referred to his wife, Mushaal Malik, in the affidavit and expressed a desire to free her from a life of prolonged imprisonment and waiting for a possible execution. Indian forces arrested Malik in Srinagar on April 10, 2019. He was subsequently accused of involvement in the alleged abduction and murder of a nurse in 1990.

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