rki.news

Altaf Hamid Rao
MIRPUR (AJK), July 1: The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF-Yasin Malik) has strongly condemned what it described as the Indian authorities’ attempt to falsely implicate its incarcerated chairman, Muhammad Yasin Malik, in a 36-year-old murder case involving Sarla Bhat in occupied Srinagar.
In a statement issued from the party’s central information office, JKLF chief spokesman and Yasin Malik’s special representative, Muhammad Rafiq Dar, alleged that the current Indian government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is attempting to secure a death sentence for Yasin Malik by linking him to cases in which he has no involvement. He said Malik is already facing multiple charges, including terror funding and other historical cases, which the party rejects as politically motivated.
The spokesman stated that JKLF and Yasin Malik have no connection with the 1990 killing of Sarla Bhat, a nursing staff member at SKIMS Soura, Srinagar. He further termed the inclusion of deceased JKLF leaders Sheikh Abdul Hameed, Muhammad Yousuf alias Idrees, and G.M. Tiploo in the case as “shameful” and politically motivated.
Rafiq Dar argued that Malik was critically injured on April 8, 1990, after allegedly jumping from a five-story building in Narwara, Srinagar, during a BSF raid to avoid arrest. He claimed Malik remained unconscious for more than a week and was bedridden for over two months due to severe head injuries and partial facial paralysis. During that period, he said, Malik was under medical care and unable to move or participate in any activity.
He questioned how a seriously injured and unconscious individual could be linked to the alleged crime, stating that Malik’s condition made such accusations “impossible and baseless.” He also claimed that several of Malik’s associates were arrested during the same raid.
The spokesman further said that JKLF had itself condemned the killing of Sarla Bhat in 1990 and had initiated internal efforts to investigate the incident, but was unable to continue due to ongoing security operations and raids against its leadership.
He warned that continued “malicious campaigns” against Yasin Malik would not undermine his political standing or his advocacy for Kashmir’s right to self-determination. He urged international human rights organizations and civil society groups, including in India, to intervene to ensure what he called a fair legal process and to safeguard Malik’s life.
Meanwhile, the spokesman also condemned the arrest of trade union leader Showkat Nawaz Mir in Azad Jammu and Kashmir, calling for dialogue-based resolution of political tensions in the region. He emphasized that peaceful settlement of disputes in Jammu and Kashmir remains essential for long-term regional stability