Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, accused in the case of kidnapping of Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989, “should be given a fair trial”, Sajad Lone, chairman of the Peoples Conference, said here on Tuesday.
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“Malik deserves a fair trial. He has the right to place his case before the court. Justice cannot be a one-sided affair,” Mr. Lone said on Tuesday, referring to the trial in the case of kidnapping of the daughter of the late Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, former J&K Chief Minister.
She was released in exchange of five jailed JKLF militants.
He criticised Peoples Democratic Party president and former J&K Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s stance on the issue. Ms. Mufti recently said Ms. Sayeed, her sister, was “doing her duty as per the law” in identifying Mr. Malik as one of her kidnappers.
“They [the Muftis] should have taken a leaf from [Congress leader] Priyanka Gandhi’s book as she decided to forgive her father’s killer. This was mere kidnapping, which is highly condemnable though,” said Mr. Lone, who was a member of the Hurriyat.
“They [the Muftis] have every right to identify and indict those involved. Those getting people identified and indicted, however, don’t have the right to talk about reconciliation and dialogue.”
