Mehbooba Mufti bats for Yasin Malik, fearmongers over ban on his JKLF

Following the ban on Yasin Malik-led Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti has raised her concerns towards the move and accused the government of taking steps that will turn Kashmir into an 'open air prison' 

In a tweet the former chief minister of Jammu and Kashmir siding with the Hurriyat leader has said that he 'renounced violence' to resolve Jammu and Kashmir issue and was also treated as a 'stakeholder' in a dialogue extended by former Prime Minister Atal Bihar Vajpayee. 

Her tweet read: Yasin Malik renounced violence as a way of resolving Jammu and Kashmir issue a long time ago. He  was treated as a stakeholder in a dialogue initiated by then PM Vajpayee ji. What will a ban on his organisation achieve? Detrimental steps like these will only turn Kashmir into an open air prison

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The development comes on the eve of Pakistan National Day, when Pakistan has decided to invite separatist Hurriyat leaders from Jammu and Kashmir to the event, pertaining to which the Indian government officials decided to stay away from the event. 

The outfit has been banned for alleged promotion of secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

The organisation has been banned under various provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and its chief Yasin Malik is under arrest and at present lodged in Jammu's Kot Balwal jail.

The Kashmiri separatist leader was taken into preventive custody by the police on February 22 as the cops apprehended him from his Maisuma residence in Srinagar. He was then detained in the Kothibagh police station in Srinagar.

READ| In A Big Step, CBI Seeks To Reopen 30-year-old Case Against Yasin Malik; Separatist Leader Transferred To Jammu Jail Under Public Safety Act

In the crackdown, the CBI also filed a transfer application in Jammu and Kashmir High Court to reopen the 30-year-old case against terrorist turned separatist and Pakistan proxy Yasin Malik. 

The case relates to the killing of 4 unarmed IAF officers in Jan 1990 in Srinagar and also kidnapping of Rubiya Saeed, daughter of former Home Minister of India Mufti Mohd Saeed and Mehbooba Mufti's sister.