Yasin Malik convicted for terrorism, secessionism

New Delhi/Srinagar, May 19 (UNI): A court here on Thursday convicted Kashmiri separatist leader Mohammad Yasin Malik for terrorism and secessionist activities and said the sentence will be pronounced on May 25.

In March, the court ordered framing of charges under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) against Malik and others. He was charged with terrorism, criminal conspiracy, being a member of a terrorist group and sedition. Malik told the court that he would not contest the charges.

The court sought an affidavit regarding the financial status of Yasin and directed the National Investigating Agency (NIA) to submit a report and adjourned the matter for hearing on the quantum of sentence for May 25. The chargesheet was also filed against Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor. Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin were declared proclaimed offenders.

Reacting to the verdict, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) on Thursday said the convictions in courts have not “solved the Kashmir issue in the past it can not solve it now”.

“While the development is the part of legal process, we must not lose sight of the fact that it can’t and won’t solve the political problem called the Kashmir issue,” PDP spokesperson said. “We have seen people being picked, convicted and hanged out of turn but has that led to the resolution of the Kashmir issue? Will this conviction lead to resolution of the Kashmir issue?” he asked.

“It also depends on who is facing justice. We have seen different parameters being used. Those who killed the father of this nation are worshiped..,” the spokesperson said.