Srinagar, May 25: The moderate faction of the Hurriyat Conference, headed by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, on Wednesday condemned the conviction and the life sentence given to separatist leader Mohammad Yasin Malik by a Delhi court.
"Yasin Malik, since 1994, pursued peaceful and democratic means of conflict resolution. A strong votary of dialogue and negotiations between the parties concerned to the Kashmir conflict -- the people of Jammu and Kashmir, India and Pakistan -- he has been relentlessly and selflessly seeking its resolution," the Hurriyat said in a statement.
It said Malik actively participated in all negotiations held on Kashmir since 2000 under various regimes in New Delhi and Islamabad. "Yet he was arrested, shifted to Tihar and has now been convicted in invented cases under draconian laws, when actually he is being punished for his political beliefs on the Jammu and Kashmir dispute and for representing the sentiments of its people," the separatist amalgam said.
"The complete protest strikes being observed by people, despite state coercion and pressure not to allow it, show their commitment to resistance against force and in support of the resistance leadership in jails and under incarceration," it added.
The Hurriyat urged the Centre to release all political prisoners lodged in jails across the country and under house arrest, and "resolve the lingering Kashmir conflict peacefully through deliberations among the parties to the dispute, keeping in view the will of the people of Jammu and Kashmir".
A Delhi court on Wednesday awarded life imprisonment to Malik, one of the foremost separatist leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, in a terror-funding case, saying the crimes were intended to strike at the "heart of the idea of India" and forcefully secede Jammu and Kashmir from the Union of India.
Special Judge Praveen Singh awarded varying jail terms to Malik for offences under the stringent anti-terror law -- Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) -- and the IPC, rejecting the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) plea for capital punishment. PTI