Yasin Malik is a Kashmiri separatist leader, former militant, and chairman of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF). He advocates for the independence of Kashmir from both India and Pakistan. He renounced violence in 1994 and adopted peaceful methods to seek a settlement of the Kashmir conflict. He pleaded guilty to charges of criminal conspiracy and waging war against the state and was sentenced to life imprisonment in May 2022.
Early Life and Education
Yasin Malik was born on April 3, 1966, in the densely populated Maisuma locality of Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir, India. His father, Ghulam Qadir Malik, passed away in 2012 from a cardiac arrest. Yasin Malik has three sisters, including Amina Malik, who has advocated for better prisoners' rights for him at Tihar Jail.
Yasin Malik witnessed violence and unrest on the streets of Srinagar caused by security forces, which deeply influenced his life. In 1980, after observing an altercation between the army and taxi drivers, he became a rebel. He formed a group called the Tala Party, which was involved in printing and distributing political materials and causing disturbances. The group also attempted to disrupt the 1983 cricket match between India and the West Indies at the Sheri-Kashmir Stadium and protested against the execution of Maqbool Bhat. Yasin Malik was arrested and detained for four months during this period.
After his release in 1986, the Tala Party was renamed the Islamic Students League (ISL), with Malik serving as the general secretary. The ISL became an important youth movement in Kashmir, attracting members such as Ashfaq Majeed Wani, Javed Mir, and Abdul Hameed Sheikh. They were influenced by the sermons of Maulvi Mohammad Yusuf Shah, a prominent Jamaat leader in the Srinagar district.
Yasin Malik completed his graduation from Sri Pratap College in Srinagar. He also states that much of his knowledge has been self-acquired through independent study while serving time in various jails. Malik is an admirer of the poetry of Allama Iqbal and the writings of Imam Ghazali.
Personal life
Yasin Malik married Pakistani painter Mushaal Hussein Mullick in Rawalpindi on 22 February 2009. The couple first met in 2005 when Yasin Malik visited Islamabad to garner support for the Kashmiri separatist movement. They became parents to a daughter named Raziyah Sultana in March 2012. Currently, Mushaal and her daughter reside in Islamabad.
0 Comments