After the National Investigation Agency (NIA) filed an appeal to the Delhi High Court to seek the death penalty for Kashmiri separatist leader and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik on Friday, leaders of both the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples Conference (PC) responded in dismay. PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti said that the case must be “reviewed and reconsidered,” while PC chairman Sajad Lone termed the NIA plea as “dangerous.”
PDP leader and former colleague Altaf Bukhari, meanwhile, tweeted that “deterrent measures” should be taken against those “trying to threaten” the country’s security.
The dispute arose after an NIA court in May 2020 convicted Malik of terror funding. Reacting harshly to Bukari’s support for Malik’s hanging, Mehbooba Mufti said that the ” new political ikhwan [renegades] gleefully supporting his hanging are a grave threat to our collective rights”, claiming that a democracy like India pardoned the assassins of its Prime Minister and that political prisoners must have their cases reviewed and reconsidered.
Sajad Lone of the Peoples Conference condemned the NIA’s plea as dangerous, citing Yasin Malik’s past and how he was pushed to take up arms “by those who filled the graveyards” following the 1987 elections, and the desperate Chief Minister of that era who sought to sabotage any attempts of reconciliation. He urged for an end to the experiments, stating that the people of Jammu and Kashmir need oxygen, asking “is it always the poor man’s son who has to face the law, who has to face the gallows?”
While the situation in Jammu and Kashmir remains tense, a humanistic degree of justice must be applied here. We must remember that justice is not only about punishing the wrong, but also about recognizing and rectifying the damage done. Leaders in the PDP, PC, NIA, and beyond must prioritize fairness and inclusivity in their acts and decisions for society.
