A UAPA Tribunal, headed by Justice Chander Shekhar of Delhi High Court, upheld the ban on Yasin Malik’s outfit, the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) saying there was ‘sufficient cause’ to hold it an ‘unlawful association’.
The order stated that JKLF’s activities are “disruptive in character, which threatens the sovereignty and territorial integrity of India.”
The Home Ministry had banned JKLF led by separatist Yasin Malik on 22nd March, shortly after the attack on CRPF bus in Pulwama which took the lives of 40 jawans.
The Centre had submitted a list of 98 FIRs filed against the group. The Tribunal in its order said the faction in collusion with other similar groups, has been acting “to disrupt peace and harmony in Jammu and Kashmir.”
The tribunal noted that there is credible material including the FIRs coupled with intelligence inputs which justified the action taken by the government.
“There are statements attributed to Yasin Malik which are separatists in character and support extremism and militancy in Jammu and Kashmir. Such statements have the potential of instigating sentiments which ultimately become prejudicial to the territorial integrity and security of the country,” it said.
JKLF is the forerunner separatist group functioning in Jammu and Kashmir. It supports terrorist and separatist groups fighting for the purpose of “secession of a part of the Indian territory from the union.” It was involved in the massacre of Kashmiri Pandits in 1989 which ultimately led to their exodus from the valley. The outfit was also involved in the kidnapping and killing of Ravindra Mhatre, an Indian diplomat posted in the UK, in 1984. In 1971, a JKLF member hijacked an Indian Airlines flight on its way to Jammu from Srinagar.
Yasin Malik is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
— India Legal Bureau