ISLAMABAD: Azad Jammu and Kashmir President Bar­rister Sultan Mehmood Chaudhry on Friday asked the government to raise the denial of right to fair trial to Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik and his unjust sentencing of life imprisonment by an Indian court at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) and other relevant forums.

He was speaking at a press conference along with Malik’s wife Mushaal Hussein Mullick at her residence in the capital.

Stressing that there was an urgent need to raise the issue at the ICJ, Barrister Chaudhry said: “Only 22 days are left within which an appeal against Yasin Malik’s conviction and reviewing of the case could be filed in the International Court of Justice.”

Owing to some limitations, the president said, the AJK government could not file an appeal with the ICJ.

Mushaal says worried about husband’s life; Bilawal writes to UN secretary general

“As per rules, only member states have the right to access the court and file an appeal with it,” he added. He said it was high time to raise the issue more vigorously at the ICJ, the UN Commission for Human Rights and other relevant bodies.

Referring to his upcoming visit to the United Kingdom, Ireland and Brussels, Barrister Sultan said he would raise the issue of Malik’s unjust sentencing at every forum.

Speaking on the occasion, Mushaal Mullick, wife of Yasin Malik, said it was necessary to approach the International Court of Justice against his life-term sentence because the JKLF leader was not a resident of India and was being punished under Indian law.

Ms Mullick, who is also chairperson of the Peace and Culture Organisation, said she was worried about the life of her husband who was shifted to an isolated cell in the notorious Tihar jail.

Bilawal writes to UNSC

Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari, as part of Pakistan’s ongoing efforts to draw attention of the international community to the alarming situation in India-held Kashmir, has written a letter to United Nations (UN) Secretary General Antonio Guterres, adds APP.

The letter dated May 31 apprised the UN secretary general of the circumstances of Yasin Malik’s conviction in a manifestly dubious and politically-motivated case filed by the Indian National Investigation Agency, his chronic ailments and the ruthless treatment meted out to him in Indian jails.

It also highlighted that the incarceration of Yasin Malik, his sham trial on concocted charges, his malicious conviction and the attempt to portray the legitimate freedom struggle of the Kashmiris as terrorism illustrated India’s blatant

disregard of its international legal obligations, a press release issued by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Friday said.

Published in Dawn, June 4th, 2022