Srinagar, Sep 19 (KINS): Jammu and Kashmir Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has written a detailed letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, appealing for a compassionate and urgent review of the case of jailed Yasin Malik.
Quoting her letter in full, Mehbooba as per news agency KINS wrote: “I write to you not merely as a witness but as someone who has lived through the turbulent times of Jammu and Kashmir, bearing its grief, enduring its silences, and holding on to its fragile hopes. This letter is written not in defiance but in faith, faith in the promise of reconciliation and in the belief that this great nation, even in its most challenging moments, can still choose healing over hurt”.
“I earnestly appeal to your esteemed office for a compassionate and urgent review of the case of Yasin Malik, a name that once symbolized resistance, later chose restraint, and now remains silenced behind prison walls. His story is not simple as no story born of conflict ever is. Yet what matters most is the profound transformation he undertook and the trust he placed in the State when he renounced violence and chose the path of political engagement and non-violent dissent.
Yasin Malik’s journey is no secret to the Indian State. In 1994, he took a courageous and rare decision to lay down arms and embrace political, non violent means to pursue change. According to his sworn affidavits, this shift was neither unilateral nor impulsive but encouraged and facilitated through back-channel understandings with Indian agencies. Over the years, Malik engaged in dialogues involving senior officials, intelligence personnel, and even controversial figures like Hafiz Saeed, all with the tacit consent of Indian agencies. These efforts represented a painstaking and deliberate attempt to build bridges in a deeply fractured land.”
For years, these quiet understandings held. Malik participated in talks, traveled with official clearance, and was regarded even if reluctantly as a crucial bridge between estranged realities. He was granted bail in all 32 pending TADA cases, none of which the government pursued. Malik asserts that this truce was honoured for 25 years across the tenures of Narasimha Rao, Vajpayee, Gujral, Manmohan Singh, and even Modi’s first term. Yet everything changed after August 2019. Old cases were resurrected, the JKLF was banned, and the man once seen as a potential peace interlocutor was recast as a terrorist, sentenced to life imprisonment, and now potentially facing the death penalty”.
“The world is rapidly changing, and hostility appears to be triggering a reset in global politics. Yet India need not reinvent the wheel to secure its strategic and economic interests. Visionary leaders like Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ji and Dr. Manmohan Singh understood and pursued with quiet conviction that our country’s enduring strength flows from dialogue, not domination. Trust in the people of Jammu and Kashmir is fundamental. Unfortunately, we Kashmiris remain marginalized, our voices excluded from decisions that shape our lives. This must change if durable peace and a secure environment for democracy, development, and growth in Jammu and Kashmir, and indeed the region and country, are to be realized. Brute force must give way to the healing touch of dialogue, and constitutional rights must be restored.
In light of Malik’s long-standing commitment to non-violence, the urgent need for reconciliation, and the humanitarian dimensions of this case, I earnestly.”(KINS)
