YASIN Malik, who has been imprisoned for life on false ‘terror-related’ charges, had been working alongside the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) and other resistance groups against the occupation of Kashmir by India, which has used all tools of colonial oppression.

A large number of movement leaders have been arrested, and many of them have died in Indian prisons. Yasin himself was arrested several times. We can safely say that he has spent more time in jails than outside.

He proudly says that he has neither accepted Indian role nor Indian rule. Yasin is a prisoner of conscience. He committed ‘crimes’ against a colonial force. It is a historic fact that freedom fighters have always been accused of ‘crimes’.

It is history which determines the role of freedom fighters as well as occupiers. In British India, Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Muhammad Ali Jauhar, Hasrat Mohani and many others were accused of hatching conspiracies against the British colonial forces.

The free world, if it really cares about human rights and freedom, must put pressure on India to release Yasin and accept his demands. India should allow the Kashmiris to exercise their right to self-determination and free movement.

Syed Muzammil Hussain
Islamabad

Published in Dawn, June 29th, 2022