KDC Takes Yasin Malik Affidavit to UN, Urges Meaningful Kashmiri Role in Peace Process
MIRPUR, (APP – UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News – 9th Sep, 2026): The Kashmir Diaspora Coalition (KDC), a Turkey-based Kashmiri rights organization, has formally approached UN Secretary-General António Guterres regarding the affidavit of jailed Kashmir freedom struggle leader and JKLF chairman Yasin Malik. The organization described it as a significant testimony on the Kashmir conflict and called for meaningful Kashmiri participation in any future political process.
Dr. Mubeen Shah, KDC Supremo, spoke to APP from Istanbul on Wednesday, emphasizing that their intervention was not about an individual or criminal proceeding but raised broader questions about political space for those transitioning from armed struggle to peaceful engagement.
According to Dr. Shah, Malik’s affidavit holds both personal and political value. It details his years of imprisonment and separation from his family while also recounting his political journey. Malik denied involvement in the 1990 killing of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat, calling the allegations baseless, and requested capital punishment without admitting guilt.
The KDC leader highlighted Malik’s shift from armed struggle to dialogue and peaceful political engagement, as well as his reported contacts with former Indian Prime Ministers Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh during political openings in India-Pakistan relations. He stressed that this transition raises crucial questions about the process that encouraged such engagement and its subsequent decline.
Dr. Shah argued against selective interpretation of Kashmir’s peace process history, reminding that political openings began under Vajpayee and continued during Manmohan Singh’s tenure, including the India-Pakistan back-channel process from 2004 to 2007. He urged both India and Pakistan to progressively declassify historical records of previous negotiations, subject to genuine security concerns, and called for Pakistan to clarify its role in past initiatives.
Noting reports of renewed India-Pakistan Track-II or back-channel contacts, Dr. Shah emphasized that any future process must include Kashmiri participation. He stated that the KDC advocates for restoration of political space, transparency regarding previous engagements, due process, and credible international support for a peaceful political resolution. He concluded that a meaningful avenue for engagement is essential, avoiding a return to armed struggle.
