The Centre is looking into the details of Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Yasin Malik’s Pakistan visit and his 24-hour hunger strike in Islamabad to protest against the execution of Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru.
Malik’s visit came under the scanner after he reportedly shared the dais with the mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai attacks and Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed. On whether any action will be taken against Malik for sharing the dais with the terror chief, Union Home Minister Sushilkumar Shinde said, “I will look into the case.” According to Pakistani media reports, Malik slammed the Centre for secretly hanging Afzal and claimed the act had deeply hurt the sentiments of the Kashmiri people.
Addressing a news conference before launching his hunger strike, Malik had said that Afzal’s hanging was part of the Indian authorities’ sinister design to create a fear psychosis among the Kashmiris. Describing the execution as murder of the law and the Constitution of India, the JKLF leader said he was apprehensive that the non-violent movement in the valley could get derailed in its aftermath.
However, on being asked about Sarbajit Singh, Malik categorically stated he was opposed to capital punishment. Meanwhile, Saeed, who is on Washington’s list of the most wanted terrorists, carries a bounty of $10 million on his head.