• Source:JND
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Yasin Malik-Hafiz Saeed Meeting Row: Jailed Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) terrorist, Yasin Malik, made a sensational claim that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh personally thanked him for meeting Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder and 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan in 2006, NDTV reported, citing an affidavit submitted in the Delhi High Court on August 25. He also alleged that Singh had expressed gratitude to him after his meeting with the top Pakistani terrorist.

Yasin Malik, who has been serving a life sentence in a terror funding case, claimed that his meeting with Saeed was not his independent initiative but was held at the request of senior Indian intelligence officials. Malik said the meeting was a as part of the backchannel peace process with Pakistan in 2006.

IB's Role In Malik-Saeed's Meeting

In the affidavit, Malik mentioned Special Director of the Intelligence Bureau (IB), VK Joshi, saying the intelligence official met him in Delhi after the 2005 Kashmir earthquake. He claimed that Joshi requested him to engage the Pakistani political leadership and top terrorists in an attempt to boost Singh led peace efforts with Pakistan.

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Delhi HC Asks Yasin Malik To Respond To NIA's Plea For Death Penalty

Earlier on August 11, the Delhi High Court sought Malik's response on a plea filed by the National Investigation Agency seeking death penalty for him in a terror funding case. A bench of Justices Vivek Chaudhary and Shalinder Kaur granted four weeks to Malik to file his response to the NIA's petition. The court posted the hearing for November 10.

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Malik, who previously sought to argue in-person against NIA's plea seeking the enhancement, was supposed to appear virtually from jail but wasn't produced.

The high court noted that neither Malik was produced virtually in the proceedings from jail nor he filed his reply to NIA's plea in pursuance to the court's August 9, 2024 order. On August 9, Malik was directed to be produced virtually and not physically due to security threats.

On May 24, 2022, a trial court sentenced Malik to life imprisonment after holding him guilty for offences under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and IPC. Malik had pleaded guilty to the charges, including those under the UAPA, and was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonment.

(With PTI inputs)