Banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik's long affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court has named former Prime Ministers, top intelligence officers, businessmen and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders among those he engaged through the backchannels during his "34 years of political life".

The affidavit of Malik, 60, is in response to the National Investigation Agency (NIA) seeking death penalty for him in a terror funding case, in which he was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 and is currently lodged in the Tihar jail. Malik said he was a "diehard romantic, and would accept the ultimate endgame of my fate, gleefully".

In the 85-page affidavit, Malik highlighted his engagement with previous governments after he was jailed for launching an armed struggle in 1990. He mentioned the names of former Prime Ministers, including P.V. Narasimha Rao, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, V.P. Singh, I.K. Gujral and Manmohan Singh, whom he "engaged to discuss the Kashmir issue".

Peace talks

The JKLF chief claimed that he appealed to Congress leaders, when the party was in the Opposition in 2000, "to support Prime Minister Vajpayee's peace process fully."

"In 2000, Mr. Vajpayee as Prime Minister initiated a peace and dialogue process through two (track two) diplomatic communication channels. One was led by then National Security Adviser (NSA) Brijesh Mishra, then Director of Intelligence Bureau (DIB) Shama Datta and then Intelligence Bureau (IB) Special Director Ajit Kumar Doval. The other channel was led by R.K. Mishra, who was an adviser to Dhiru Bhai Ambani. Both tracks were talking to me separately," Malik said.

Malik also claimed that IB Special Director V.K. Joshi in 2006 prodded him "to engage Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (of Lashkar-e-Taiba) and other Pakistani leaders to strengthen PM Manmohan Singh's peace process". On returning (from Pakistan), Malik said he "immediately debriefed Mr. Singh and NSA M.K. Narayanan, who conveyed their gratitude".

'Practising Gandhi's way'

On militancy-related cases faced by him, including kidnapping of ex-Home Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayeed's daughter, Malik said, "There have been three types of Maliks till date: a young lad (1984-1988) who firmly believed in political institutions, second a militant (1988-1994) who picked up the armed struggle having witnessed humiliation by the law enforcement agencies and anarchy in the democratic/judicial institutions and third a political person pursuing the agenda through peace process (1994-Till Date), who has been religiously and devoutly practising the non-violent democratic and peaceful way as taught by Mahatma Gandhi".

He also claimed the Indian State "gave me a promise that neither I nor my party colleagues' TADA cases will be followed". "This promise was followed by five Prime Ministers, including the present Prime Minister in his first tenure. But after Article 370 abrogation, everything changed," Malik said.

The affidavit also mentioned "marathon dialogues" with senior Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) leaders, including two Shankaracharyas, at his residence in Srinagar and named top businessmen he was in touch with.

'Grotesque allegations'

"There are unsubstantiated claims that the Kashmiri Pandits' exodus happened because of the alleged genocide and gang rape initiated by me. I welcome the IB to place on record all plausible information relevant to that period, which could prove beyond a reasonable doubt if I had any involvement whatsoever. If at all these grotesque allegations were to be true, I shall hang myself without any trial and pronounce my name to go down the annals of history as a blot and curse to mankind," Malik writes in the affidavit.

Meanwhile, former J&K Chief Minister and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) president Mehbooba Mufti has written a letter to Union Home Minister Amit Shah, seeking "compassionate review of Malik's case".

"Malik had long acted as a bridge during critical peace efforts, engaging in back-channel dialogues with Indian agencies and participating in talks across successive governments with tacit official approval. He is now facing life imprisonment and even the threat of death penalty. Such a move would shatter the fragile trust essential for meaningful dialogue and risk alienating Kashmiris further from democratic processes. The spirit of India, I firmly believe, lies in our capacity to show magnanimity and uphold promises made in pursuit of peace," Ms. Mufti said, in the letter.

She warned that closing doors on Malik's case could "perpetuate the cycle of conflict and extinguish hope for reconciliation".

Meanwhile, J&K Peoples Conference chairman Sajad Gani Lone termed Ms. Mufti's letter for mercy as "hollow". "She has no justification to demand a review of Malik's case when a member of her own family had identified Malik in a case," Mr. Lone said.

He accused the ruling political parties of "double standards". "When they are in power, they are the ones who jail and even hang Kashmiris. Once out of office, they suddenly speak about mercy and human rights," he added.

JKLF chief Yasin Malik's court affidavit details engagement with ex-PMs, top intelligence officials