SRINAGAR – Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik, who is currently imprisoned in India, has refused to continue defending his case, saying he has lost confidence in the Indian judicial system.
Yasin Malik submitted a 25-page affidavit before a court in Srinagar, in which his written statements submitted on August 24 were made part of the judicial record as evidence.
In the affidavit, Yasin Malik alleged that the Indian government was seeking to implicate him in a fabricated case decades after the alleged events and ultimately secure a death sentence against him. He said he no longer expected justice from Indian courts and maintained that even if the court sentenced him to death, he would accept the punishment in the cause of Kashmir.
However, Yasin Malik stressed that accepting a judicial sentence would not amount to accepting the allegations or charges against him.
He categorically denied involvement in the 1990 murder of Sarla Bhatt, saying he had been implicated in the case on the basis of an alleged JKLF note reportedly found near Bhatt’s body.
Yasin Malik argued that he could not have planned or directed the murder because he had sustained serious injuries 11 days before the incident. He further alleged that Indian agencies had encouraged him to develop contacts with Pakistan and later used those contacts as evidence against him.
According to the affidavit, during the government of former Indian prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, senior officials Ajit Doval, Brajesh Mishra and R.K. Mishra had encouraged him to play a positive role in improving India-Pakistan relations.
Yasin Malik also alleged that his name, photograph and court proceedings were used as part of political messaging during the 2019 and 2024 elections.
The affidavit also details his prolonged imprisonment, periods of isolation and years of separation from his mother, wife and daughter.
Addressing his wife, Mushaal Malik, he expressed a desire to free her from what he described as a life marked by prolonged imprisonment and uncertainty over his possible execution. He thanked her for standing by him with courage and said he was releasing her from their marital companionship.
Yasin Malik also urged his daughter to remain in contact with her grandmother and help ease her grief. He said he had presented his position and conscience before the court and would leave the outcome to God.
The political commentators cited in the report described Malik’s trial as an attempt to silence a prominent Kashmiri voice through political pressure. They said Kashmiri leaders, including Malik, had remained steadfast despite prolonged imprisonment and what they described as state repression.
They further argued that while a voice could be suppressed, the broader demand for self-determination in Kashmir could not be eliminated, and called on the United Nations to play a role in seeking the release of political prisoners.
