News Desk – Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, currently in jail, has made some shocking claims in an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court. He said that in 2006, he met Hafiz Saeed, the founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), in Pakistan. Malik claims he did this on the request of senior Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials in India.
Hafiz Saeed is a wanted terrorist and the alleged mastermind of several attacks in India, including the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
According to Malik, after meeting Saeed, he returned to Delhi and personally briefed then Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. He said Singh thanked him for his efforts and assured him that the government was serious about resolving the Kashmir issue.
Malik also wrote that his meeting with Saeed was later used against him, even though it was arranged at the request of Indian authorities.
In his affidavit, Malik also recalled an earlier meeting with former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1995. He said Vajpayee politely urged him to keep ties with India, even if only with a “fragile thread.”
The revelations come as the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has sought the death penalty for Malik in a terror funding case. The court has given him time until November 10 to respond.
Malik was sentenced to life imprisonment in 2022 and is currently lodged in Tihar Jail.
