Muzaffarabad, September 4, 2026: The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) on Friday strongly rejected what it described as an attempt by Indian authorities to falsely implicate its incarcerated chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a 36-year-old murder case involving Kashmiri Pandit woman Sarla Bhat.
Malik was named in June by India’s State Investigation Agency (SIA) among five men charged in connection with Bhat’s killing in 1990.
According to a statement issued by the JKLF’s Central Information Office, the party’s leadership expressed serious concern over Malik’s implication in the case following an emergency consultative meeting of its central office-bearers.
The meeting was convened to discuss Malik’s submission of a 25-page affidavit to an additional sessions court in Srinagar from Delhi’s Tihar Jail.
According to Indian media reports, Malik said in the affidavit that he had decided not to contest the trial further but stressed that the decision should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the prosecution’s allegations.
He reportedly asked the court to award him “capital punishment” in the case and also announced his decision to end his marriage.
The JKLF leadership confirmed the authenticity of Malik’s affidavit and said it stood by its contents.
The party maintained that Malik’s account of the murder case and the exodus of the Kashmiri Pandit community from Kashmir in 1990 was truthful, while rejecting allegations by Indian investigative agencies linking him to the killing.
The JKLF said it would intensify its worldwide “Save Yasin Malik” and “Justice for Yasin Malik” campaigns to seek international support for his release.
The party also appealed to world leaders and international human rights organisations to help safeguard Malik’s life and secure his release, alleging that he was being victimised by the Indian government because of his political beliefs.
The leadership expressed sympathy with Malik’s wife and daughter over what it described as the “painful decisions” referred to in his affidavit, citing his prolonged imprisonment and the perceived threat to his life.
The JKLF reiterated its stated commitment to seeking a peaceful and early resolution of the Kashmir dispute in accordance with the wishes and aspirations of the people of Jammu and Kashmir and through the exercise of their right to self-determination.
The development follows the JKLF’s earlier rejection in July of the Indian government’s decision to implicate Malik in the case. The organisation had maintained that neither Malik nor the JKLF had any connection with the killing.
The Sarla Bhat case is among several cases involving the killings of Kashmiri Pandits in the early 1990s that have remained unresolved for decades.
In 2017, the Indian Supreme Court declined to reopen several Kashmiri Pandit murder cases, citing the passage of nearly three decades and difficulties in gathering reliable evidence and witnesses.
In 2023, Kashmiri Pandit groups approached Indian-held Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor Manoj Sinha, who directed police to prepare a list of killings from the 1990s.
The Sarla Bhat case was subsequently transferred to the SIA in March 2024 for a fresh investigation, according to Indian media reports.
Separately, Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq described the developments surrounding Malik’s affidavit as “very concerning”, particularly his decision not to contest the case further.
“It calls for serious reflection on commitments made to him and reinforces the need for due process, fairness and a humane approach,” Farooq said in a post on X.
Farooq also said he had been placed under house arrest by Indian authorities on Friday, preventing him from presiding over an event at Srinagar’s Jama Masjid in connection with Rabiul Awwal.
The event was also scheduled to mark the release of a Kashmiri translation of the Holy Quran by Gulzar Ahmad Parray and honour a young scholar for memorising the complete Sahih al-Bukhari.
Farooq said the restrictions preventing him from addressing worshippers at the Jama Masjid on Friday were personally painful but would not deter him from carrying out what he described as his responsibilities and raising the people’s voice for their rights.
