JKLF chief Yasin Malik brought to Tihar jail, may be produced before NIA court on Thursday

Image Courtesy: IANS

NEW DELHI: Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik was on Tuesday night brought to New Delhi's Tihar Jail from Jammu’s Kot Balwal Jail by National Investigation Agency (NIA) and it is expected that Malik would be produced before the NIA court on Thursday.

Malik's was arrested under PSA after the Centre decided to ban JKLF under the anti-terror law. Home Secretary Rajiv Gauba had said that JKLF is a separatist outfit and the Centre decided to ban it because it has a policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.

Gauba had also said that Malik was the mastermind of the Kashmiri Pandit genocide and JKLF was also involved in the murder of 4 IAF Officers in Jammu and Kashmir. Malik's organisation is also accused of funding terrorists in Kashmir.

The Centre had decided to ban JKLF days after banning the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir. 

The Centre's decision to ban Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir and arrest Malik was slammed by former J&K chief minister and PDP chief Mehbooba Mufti. She had claimed that these steps will prove detrimental and will turn Kashmir into an open-air prison.

JKLF had committed its first act of terror on August 1, 1988, when the group used explosives to blast three government buildings, including the Telegraph Office in Srinagar. Its members were also involved in the murder of Mohammad Yousuf Halwai, a local leader of National Conference in Srinagar on August 17, 1989.

The group targeted a Kashmiri Hindu for the first time on September 14, 1989 when its members killed Pandit Tika Lal Taploo, the state BJP vice president, in broad daylight. On October 4, 1989, JKLF members shot dead Retired Sessions Judge NK Ganjoo, who had awarded capital punishment to JKLF leader Maqbool Butt. 

By taking tough action against JKLF chief Malik, the Centre has sent a clear message that it will not tolerate any kind of separatist activities in Jammu and Kashmir but will remain open to hold dialogue with peace-loving Kashmiris.