Editor's Pick: Yasin Malik’s life sentence

A special court sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik to life imprisonment in a terror funding case on Wednesday. The special court found him guilty under Section 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 121 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), also imposing a fine of Rs 10 lakh. He was also found guilty for several other offences under the UAPA and the IPC. To prevent any untoward incident, main markets in Srinagar were shut with mobile internet suspended in certain parts. Malik was the leader of the separatist organisation Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) which sought independence for Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. A bomb attack in July 1988 marked the beginning of the separatist insurgency against the Indian rule that continued for more than three decades. However, around 1990 when Pakistan withdrew support from the JKLF, its cadres were either dispersed, destroyed or absorbed into other groups with the leadership split into factions and some of them denouncing militancy. The Special Prosecutor of the National Investigative Agency (NIA) sought death penalty for the separatist leader. In turn, the defence argued that Malik had voluntarily pleaded guilty and refuted all the charges against him. The separatist leader submitted that after the ceasefire in 1994, he had professed following the peaceful path of Mahatma Gandhi and engaging in non-violent political struggle. He added that not only former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and V.P. Singh too engaged with him. The court held that Malik did not desist from violence, betraying the good intentions of the Government in the guise of political struggle. He never expressed regret about the violence he committed before 1994. It observed his crimes were of a serious nature, further aggravated by the involvement of foreign powers. The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) said the life sentence was “unfortunate and a setback to the efforts for peace”. Pakistan President Shahbaz Sharif described it as a “black day for Indian democracy and its justice system”. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more. Click here The Hindu’s Editorials Communal clouds in Kerala: The Hindu Editorial on hate slogans in SDPI rally Unending tragedy: On U.S. school shootings and gun control debate The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The Archeological Survey of India said that which of the following was not a place of worship? Qutub Minar Sanchi Stupa Ajanta and Ellora Caves Jantar Mantar To find out the answer and play the full quiz, click here [logo] Editor's Pick 26 MAY 2022 [The Hindu logo] In the Editor's Pick newsletter, The Hindu explains why a story was important enough to be carried on the front page of today's edition of our newspaper. [Arrow]( [Open in browser]( [Mail icon]( [More newsletters]( Yasin Malik’s life sentence A special court sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader [Yasin Malik to life imprisonment in a terror funding case]( on Wednesday. The special court found him guilty under Section 17 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act and Section 121 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), also imposing a fine of Rs 10 lakh. He was also found guilty for several other offences under the UAPA and the IPC. To prevent any untoward incident, main markets in Srinagar were shut with mobile internet suspended in certain parts. Malik was the leader of the separatist organisation Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) which sought independence for Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. A bomb attack in July 1988 marked the beginning of the separatist insurgency against the Indian rule that continued for more than three decades. However, around 1990 when Pakistan withdrew support from the JKLF, its cadres were either dispersed, destroyed or absorbed into other groups with the leadership split into factions and some of them denouncing militancy.  The Special Prosecutor of the National Investigative Agency (NIA) sought death penalty for the separatist leader. In turn, the defence argued that Malik had [voluntarily pleaded guilty]( and refuted all the charges against him. The separatist leader submitted that after the ceasefire in 1994, he had professed following the peaceful path of Mahatma Gandhi and engaging in non-violent political struggle. He added that not only former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, but the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee and V.P. Singh too engaged with him. The court held that Malik did not desist from violence, betraying the good intentions of the Government in the guise of political struggle. He never expressed regret about the violence he committed before 1994. It observed his crimes were of a serious nature, further aggravated by the involvement of foreign powers. The People’s Alliance for Gupkar Declaration (PAGD) said the life sentence was “unfortunate and a setback to the efforts for peace”. Pakistan President Shahbaz Sharif described it as a “black day for Indian democracy and its justice system”. Was this newsletter forwarded to you? Head over to our newsletter subscription page to sign up for Editor‘s Pick and more.  [Click here]( The Hindu’s Editorials [Arrow][Communal clouds in Kerala: The Hindu Editorial on hate slogans in SDPI rallyÂ]( [Arrow][Unending tragedy: On U.S. school shootings and gun control debate]( The Hindu’s Daily Quiz The Archeological Survey of India said that which of the following was not a place of worship? - Qutub Minar - Sanchi Stupa - Ajanta and Ellora Caves - Jantar Mantar To find out the answer and play the full quiz, [click here]( Today’s Best Reads [[Book on plight of Kerala’s temple elephants hits the shelves] Book on plight of Kerala’s temple elephants hits the shelves]( [[Dreams take wing: Army gets first woman combat pilot] Dreams take wing: Army gets first woman combat pilot]( [[‘Top Gun: Maverick’ movie review: Tom Cruise delivers box-office magic of the best kind] ‘Top Gun: Maverick’ movie review: Tom Cruise delivers box-office magic of the best kind]( [[Are you hitting workplace ageism for six?] Are you hitting workplace ageism for six?]( Copyright @ 2022, THG PUBLISHING PVT LTD. 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