Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik was on Thursday convicted by a designated NIA court after he pleaded guilty in a case of terror funding and waging war against the country.
The special court directed the NIA to assess Malik’s financial situation to determine the amount of fine to be imposed on him and posted the matter for arguments on quantum of punishment on May 25.
Malik had pleaded guilty to all charges, including those under stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act in a terror funding case.
Malik had told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him that included Sections 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (recruitment terrorist act), 20 (punishment for being a member of a terrorist gang or organisation), 38 (membership of a terrorist gang or organisation), 39 (supporting a terrorist organization) of the UAPA, and Sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy), 121 (Waging, or attempting to wage war, or abetting waging of war, against the Government of India) and 121-A (Conspiracy to commit offences punishable by section 121) of the Indian Penal Code.
The court had earlier also formally framed charges against other Kashmiri separatist leaders, including Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor.
The NIA had also chargesheeted Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, who have been declared proclaimed offenders (PO) in the case.
The 2017 case titled Hurriyat Terror Financing Case of Jammu and Kashmir pertains to the conspiracy by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Amir of Jammat-ud-Dawah, and the secessionist and separatist leaders, including the members/cadres of the Hurriyat Conference, who had acted in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organizations like Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Dukhtaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and others.
The outfits were accused of raising, receiving and collecting funds domestically and from abroad through various illegal channels, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir to cause disruption in the Kashmir valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, systematically burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India.
The NIA had registered the case suo moto on May 30, 2017 and filed a chargesheet against 12 accused persons, including two absconding accused persons--- Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, head of LeT, and Mohammad Yusuf Shah alias Salahuddin, chief of HM on January 18, 2018. The duo is based in Pakistan.
Subsequently, first supplementary chargesheet was filed against one accused person on January 22, 2019 and second supplementary chargesheet was filed against five accused persons, including Malik on October 4, 2019.
“Investigation had established that Yasin Malik alias Aslam is the head of unlawful association Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), and is involved in terrorist and subversive activities in Jammu and Kashmir. In 2016, he along with other Hurriyat leaders formed a self-styled group called “Joint Resistance Leadership”, whereby they started issuing directions to the masses to hold protests, demonstrations, hartaals, shutdowns, roadblocks and such other disruptive activities which would push the entire society into chaos and lawlessness,” the NIA said in a statement.
Malik was also involved in raising funds from cross-LoC (Line of Control) traders, various entities based abroad and distributing those funds among militants and stone-pelters for funding stone-pelting and demonstrations, it further said.
Charges were framed against Malik on March 16, 2022 and he had pleaded guilty on May 10, 2022. Further trial against the remaining accused persons in the case is continuing, it added.
