ISLAMABAD – Pakistan’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs has summoned Indianchargé d’affaires and handed over a demarche conveying Islamabad’s concernover the deteriorating health condition of Kashmiri leader Yasin Malik.
The development comes as Yasin Malik, who was on a hunger strike at TiharJail in the Indian capital, was admitted to a hospital where he was givenIV fluids before being shifted back to prison.
Yasin Malik announced hunger strike to protest the decision of the Modi-ledadministration to reopen thirty-year-old cases against him, months afterthe Indian court sentenced him for life imprisonment after conviction in analleged terror funding case.
Foreign Office summoned an Indian diplomat and apprised him of Pakistan’sdeep dismay over the Indian authorities’ latest move of implicating Malikin two more bogus cases.
“Given the urgency of the situation and keeping in view Malik’s sharplydeteriorating health indicators, the government of India has been stronglyurged to provide him urgent medical care, immediately release him fromprison, cancel his fallacious conviction and withdraw all other casesagainst him,” the Foreign Office statement said.
The statement from MoFA added that a letter addressed to the Indian PrimeMinister from Yasin Malik’s wife seeking her husband’s immediate releasefrom prison in view of his precarious health condition was also handed overto the Indian envoy.
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Lately, Indian officials shifted Kashmiri leader back to New Delhi’sinfamous Tihar Jail from the hospital. After returning to jail, theHurriyat leader decided to continue with his hunger strike and is still nothaving any food.
The ailing activist is in illegal detention since 2019 when India’snotorious crime agency detained him in a false case. Yasin earlier told thecourt earlier that he was not contesting the charges leveled against him.
Several activists and Organization of Islamic Cooperation also expressedgrave concern over the pronouncement of life sentence for prominentKashmiri leader Yasin Malik.
