JKLF LEADER YASIN MALIK PLEADS GUILTY TO TERROR ACTIVITIES IN J&K
NEW DELHI: Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Mohammad Yasin Malik on Tuesday pleaded guilty to all charges in a case related to terror funding and secessionist activities in the Kashmir Valley in 2017.
On March 16, the court charged Malik and others under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and relevant sections of the Indian Penal Code such as criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country, and unlawful activities and terrorism, in the case filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Malik pleaded guilty to the charges under sections 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for the terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act), and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the IPC.
The maximum punishment for these offences is life imprisonment.
Speaking to HT, advocate Akhand Pratap Singh, who was appointed as an amicus for Malik since he did not have a lawyer, said the JKLF leader, who was present in the court, did not contest the charges and pleaded guilty.
A detailed order is yet to be uploaded on the court’s website. On May 19, the court will hear arguments on the quantum of sentence for Malik.
According to NIA, various terrorist organisations such as the Lashkar-e-taiba , Hizb-ul-mujahideen (HM), JKLF, Jaish-e-mohammed (JEM) among others, with the support of the Inter-services Intelligence of Pakistan, perpetrated violence in the Valley by attacking civilians and security forces. It further alleged that in 1993, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference was formed to give a political front to secessionist activities.
In a charge sheet submitted before the court in 2018, the NIA contended that the central government received credible information that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and other secessionist and separatist leaders, including members of the Hurriyat Conference, have been acting in connivance with active militants of HM and LET for raising, to funds.