Yasin Malik’s Shocking Claims: From Terror Charges to Secret Meetings with Indian Leaders
Srinagar-based separatist leader Yasin Malik, currently serving a life sentence for terror funding, has dropped bombshell revelations in an affidavit to the Delhi High Court. The jailed chief of the banned Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) says his past wasn’t just about militancy—it involved deep ties with Indian intelligence, politicians, and even big industrialists as part of backchannel peace talks on Kashmir.
Malik, convicted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for receiving foreign funds and links to terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, filed this affidavit on August 25. The NIA now wants the court to upgrade his life term to a death sentence, but Malik claims he accepts whatever comes his way "gleefully." He paints a picture of his life shaped by secret government engagements, especially after the 2019 scrapping of Article 370 and 35A, which he says sparked widespread fear and arrests in Kashmir.
A Secret Meeting with 26/11 Mastermind Hafiz Saeed?
One of the most explosive claims? Malik says he met Lashkar-e-Taiba founder and 26/11 Mumbai attacks planner Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan back in 2006. But here’s the twist: he insists Indian intelligence officials arranged it as part of quiet peace efforts. After the meeting, then-Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally thanked him, according to Malik.
BJP IT cell head Amit Malviya slammed these revelations on X (formerly Twitter), calling Malik a "hardened terrorist" guilty of killing three Air Force personnel. "This amounts to waging war against the state," Malviya posted. He questioned the UPA government’s national security approach, saying, "If true, these claims raise grave questions about backchannel diplomacy."
Backchannel Diplomacy: Dinners with Ministers and a Call from Dhirubhai Ambani
Malik’s affidavit goes back decades, detailing how he got pulled into India’s peace process. In the early 1990s, while in Mehrauli sub-jail, officials whisked him to a bungalow in Maharani Bagh. There, then-Home Minister Rajesh Pilot, IAS officer Wajahat Habibullah, and top Intelligence Bureau (IB) officers urged him to give up arms. He claims Prime Minister P.V. Narasimha Rao ordered his return to mainstream politics.
After three years of talks, Malik walked free in May 1994. He announced a ceasefire in Srinagar and vowed to fight for Kashmir through non-violent, democratic means. The government dropped all 32 pending TADA cases against him, and he says this deal held for 25 years—through governments led by Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, I.K. Gujral, Manmohan Singh, and even Narendra Modi’s first term.
Malik recalls intimate dinners with ministers and intelligence chiefs. In one standout moment, R.K. Mishra, a close aide to PM Vajpayee, handed him a phone. On the line? Industrial giant Dhirubhai Ambani. The Reliance founder chatted warmly about hard work and humble beginnings, highlighting Malik’s surprising network that stretched from politicians to business tycoons.
What Does This Mean for Kashmir and National Security?
These claims have sparked heated debate on Yasin Malik’s role in Kashmir politics and India’s handling of separatists. Supporters see it as proof of failed backchannel talks, while critics like Malviya demand full legal action. As the Delhi High Court reviews the NIA’s appeal, Malik’s story adds a dramatic layer to the long-running Kashmir conflict.
The affidavit comes amid ongoing tensions post-Article 370 abrogation, with Malik framing his trial as a message to Kashmiris. Whether these revelations hold up, they shine a light on the shadowy world of secret diplomacy in one of India’s most sensitive regions.
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