NEW DELHI: India’s top anti-terrorism investigation agency, the National Investigation Agency (NIA), has reportedly filed a petition seeking the death sentence for Kashmiri leader Muhammad Yasin Malik.
This comes after Malik was previously sentenced to life imprisonment in a terror funding case. The NIA’s petition is set to be heard on Monday by the high court in New Delhi.
Malik, the former chief of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), was convicted and given a life sentence by an Indian court last year. The court had rejected the NIA’s initial plea for a death sentence, stating that capital punishment is reserved for crimes that “shock the collective consciousness” of society.
Yasim Malik’s Struggle for Freedom
According to a senior security official in Indian-occupied Kashmir, the NIA is once again seeking the death penalty for Malik. The JKLF, one of the earliest armed freedom fighting groups in the region, advocated for an independent and united Kashmir. Under Malik’s leadership, the group renounced armed resistance in 1994.
The conflict in Indian-occupied Kashmir has been ongoing since 1989, with various groups calling for an independent Kashmir or its merger with Pakistan. The situation remains tense in the region as the legal proceedings against Yasin Malik continue.
