ISLAMABAD: Mushaal Hussein Mullick, wife of incarcerated Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik, has warned that executing her husband would be a grave mistake with far-reaching consequences, potentially destroying hopes for peace in South Asia.
Mullick, a former aide to the Pakistani Prime Minister on human rights and women’s empowerment, wrote a letter on Friday to Priyanka Gandhi, General Secretary of the Indian National Congress, stating that such a move would be a short-term political gamble risking the subcontinent’s stability and pushing it closer to nuclear confrontation.
“If my husband Mohammad Yasin Malik’s hanging proceedings begin on 10th November, it will not just end a life. It will end a chapter of hope for peace and prosperity in South Asia,” she said.
Malik was arrested in 2019 and sentenced to life imprisonment last year by an Indian court on charges of terrorism and sedition. His detention sparked violent clashes between protesters and security forces in Indian-administered Kashmir.
Later, India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA) petitioned the Delhi High Court to seek the death penalty for Malik. The court has not yet delivered its ruling. During his trial, Malik rejected the charges against him.
According to Mullick, her husband has consistently pursued a peaceful path, advocating for a resolution to the Kashmir dispute through dialogue.
“For decades, Mohammad Yasin Malik was known not for armed resistance but for choosing to renounce it,” she wrote. “He exchanged the gun for dialogue and embraced Ahimsa (non-violence). Over the years, he became a bridge between divided peoples, trusted enough that seven successive prime ministers of India officially engaged with him.”
She recalled that even under a BJP-led government, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee chose statesmanship, initiating peace talks with Yasin Malik, Kashmiri leadership, and Pakistan in hopes of building a future free from bloodshed.
“Yet today, Prime Minister Modi has taken the opposite path. By revoking Articles 370 and 35A, he has opened a new battlefront in the region, inflamed tensions with Pakistan, and brought the subcontinent dangerously close to a war that could spiral into nuclear catastrophe,” Mullick said.
“Tragically, he now sits in solitary confinement in Delhi’s Tihar Jail, branded a terrorist by the Modi government, facing the death penalty in what I believe is a politically motivated case,” she added.
She argued that history shows whenever elections draw near, Prime Minister Modi turns to war hysteria with Pakistan or accelerates hanging proceedings against her husband to rally votes.
Mullick stressed that the Congress Party has positioned itself as a critic of such divisive politics, advocating for secularism and dialogue.
“Rahul Gandhi himself has voiced frustration with manipulated election outcomes and flaws in the EVM system, reflecting how fragile India’s democracy has become under Modi,” she said.
She further noted that the recent conflict with Pakistan inflicted deep wounds on India’s economy and exposed vulnerabilities, while its international standing has sharply declined, leaving it diplomatically isolated.
“To now distract the public with the execution of Yasin Malik would be the gravest blunder. It is a short-term political gamble that could permanently destroy hopes of peace and push the subcontinent closer to nuclear confrontation,” she cautioned.
“I am appealing to you, Mrs. Gandhi, because you have always spoken for the oppressed — from Palestine to India’s own marginalised communities — and because you personally know what it means to lose a loved one to violence,” Mushaal Hussein Mullick wrote.
“Mrs. Gandhi, I urge you to raise your voice in Parliament before 10th November to demand a fair trial, oppose the death sentence, and insist on my husband’s basic human rights. This is not just about Mohammad Yasin Malik. It is about whether India and the world choose peace over vengeance, humanity over retribution, and justice over political convenience,” she concluded.
