Kashmiri Separatist Yasin Malik's Wife Writes to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Urging Intervention in His Death Sentence

Jailed Kashmiri separatist leader and former chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) Yasin Malik's wife, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, has written to Congress MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, seeking her intervention to stop his death penalty in a 2017 terror funding case.

Malik is currently imprisoned in Tihar Jail after a trial court convicted him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections of the Indian Penal Code.The Delhi High Court has granted him four weeks to respond to the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) plea to enhance his life sentence to the death penalty. The bench also scheduled the next hearing for November 10, 2025.

In her letter, Mushaal said that Malik's execution would bury hopes of reconciliation and instead heighten the risk of conflict between India and Pakistan, two nuclear powers.

She called Malik's death sentence a "short-term political gamble that could permanently destroy hopes of peace and even push the subcontinent closer to nuclear confrontation."

She described how their daughter, Raziyah Sultan, misses seeing or speaking to her father and cannot even send him letters.

"Mrs. Gandhi, I urge you to raise your voice in Parliament before 10 November to demand a fair trial, oppose the death sentence, and insist on my husband's basic human rights," she wrote."

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," the letter further stated.

In the letter, Mushaal also reminded Priyanka Gandhi Vadra of how she forgave her father Rajiv Gandhi's assassins and expressed hope that she will speak out against Malik's death sentence.

"I cannot fail to mention that your forgiveness and embrace of the assassins of your father is an act that moves me to approach you...I see hope in you, hope that you will defy the pressure piled on by haters, hope that you will bear the political cost that always accompanies peace, and hope that you will speak when silence is clearly the politically convenient choice," she said in her letter.

Delhi HC Directs Malik To Respond To NIA Appeal

The Delhi High Court on August 8 directed Yasin Malik to respond to the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) appeal seeking to enhance his life sentence to the death penalty.

A division bench comprising Justice Vivek Chaudhary and Justice Shalinder Kaur granted Malik four weeks to file his reply and scheduled the next hearing for November 10.

During proceedings, NIA's special counsel, Advocate Akshai Malik, cited a previous court order dated August 9, 2024, in which Yasin Malik had stated his intention to represent himself. That order also mandated his appearance via video conferencing due to security concerns. However, Malik failed to appear virtually at the latest hearing, prompting the bench to reiterate its directive for his online presence at the next session.

What is Yasin Malik Accused of?

In 2022, Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment after pleading guilty under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The trial court ruled that the case did not meet the Supreme Court's "rarest of rare" threshold for capital punishment. Malik's claim of leading a non-violent, Gandhian-style movement was also rejected.

The NIA's case, filed in 2017, accused Malik and others of conspiring with Pakistan-based terrorist groups to foment unrest in Jammu and Kashmir. In March 2022, charges were framed against Malik and several co-accused, including Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Rashid Engineer, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shahid-ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmad Shah (alias Fantoosh), Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmad Dar (alias Bitta Karate).

Three individuals, Kamran Yusuf, Javed Ahmad Bhatt, and Syeda Aasiya Firdous Andrabi, were discharged from the case.

In a related development, a UAPA Tribunal led by Justice Neena Bansal Krishna of the Delhi High Court recently upheld the Union Home Ministry's decision to extend the ban on the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) for another five years. Originally imposed in 2019, the ban was renewed on March 15, 2024. The tribunal emphasised that "no tolerance" should be shown toward organisations that openly advocate secessionism.

The tribunal's findings challenged Malik's assertion that he abandoned armed resistance in 1994. Evidence presented included his alleged visits to terrorist camps in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and his involvement in mobilising illegal funds for violent activities and protests in the Kashmir Valley.

The NIA's 2018 charge sheet also outlined a leadership hierarchy within the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), identifying SAS Geelani, Malik, and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq as key figures under the "Joint Resistance Leadership" banner.

(With inputs from agencies)

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