Fresh Revelations in Court Affidavit Link Indian Intelligence to Controversial Meeting
In a surprising twist from India’s political corridors, Yasin Malik has submitted an affidavit to the Delhi High Court with claims that raise eyebrows across party lines. Malik — the jailed separatist leader and former commander-in-chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front — alleged that he met Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed in 2006 during a visit to Pakistan, and this meeting, he claims, occurred at the direction of India’s Intelligence Bureau (IB).
Even more controversially, Malik stated that former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who held office from 2004 to 2014, personally conveyed gratitude for his role in the secret interaction aimed at furthering the peace talks of that time.
Timeline of Events
- 2006: Yasin Malik visits Pakistan as part of a peace initiative.
- During the visit, Malik says he was advised by IB officials to connect with Hafiz Saeed, founder of the terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.
- He subsequently meets Saeed in Pakistan.
- Upon returning, Malik alleges he was thanked for his efforts by key Indian government figures, including then-PM Manmohan Singh.
- 2024: The details are now formally presented in an affidavit before Delhi High Court.
Official Statements
So far, there has been no formal reaction from the office of Manmohan Singh, the Ministry of External Affairs, or the Intelligence Bureau. But former intelligence officers, speaking on condition of anonymity, expressed skepticism. One retired IB operative said, “If this really happened, it was either an off-the-books initiative or simply an individual’s exaggeration. The government would never sanction talks with a designated global terrorist.”
“The Prime Minister himself conveyed gratitude towards me for having taken the initiative to engage with Hafiz Saeed,” Malik claimed in his affidavit. “This was all done with IB coordination at the time.”
If Malik’s claims prove to have substance, they could change how India views some of its diplomatic efforts during the mid-2000s.
Political Ripples in Delhi
As you’d expect, this has stirred controversy, particularly among opposition leaders and observers who track national security matters. The BJP criticized the Congress, demanding clarity and transparency.
- J.P. Nadda asked, “Was the UPA government backing terrorist engagement under the table?”
- Congress insiders have dismissed the claims as an attempt to deflect from other ongoing issues.
The Congress party has not released a formal rebuttal yet. But behind-the-scenes murmurs suggest they may soon do so, pointing to Malik’s current life sentence and questioning his credibility.
Background: Who is Yasin Malik?
Yasin Malik has long been a controversial figure. Once associated with armed militancy in Kashmir, he announced a disengagement from violence and became involved in separatist politics. In 2022, he was sentenced to life imprisonment by an NIA court in Delhi after pleading guilty to charges involving terror funding. His involvement in Indo-Pak dialogues, especially during the mid-2000s, has been heavily scrutinized.
His affidavit could be an attempt to protect or reposition himself legally or politically. That’s just one theory floating around, but in legal settings, motives are always secondary to facts.
Why It Matters
This affidavit isn’t just about a decades-old trip to Pakistan. If true — and that’s the ball every party seems to be juggling — it suggests that an Indian covert policy under the UPA government was willing to engage even with figures who were later designated as international terrorists by the UN and US alike.
That would raise some difficult questions:
- Was there a formal backchannel to Pakistan extremist groups?
- Was Hafiz Saeed considered a pressure-release valve rather than a red line?
- And what exactly was Manmohan Singh’s knowledge or involvement in these interactions?
I think if you’ve followed India-Pakistan relations at all over the last 30 years, this feels like a bizarre puzzle piece you didn’t know was missing.
Legal Implications for Malik
Law experts say the timing of this affidavit is suspicious and might be a strategy to attract political support or at least media oxygen. Still, if the court takes this seriously, we could see some old files reopened. It’s not unheard of. Courts have revisited 15- or 20-year-old policies when new testimonies or evidence come forward.
Besides, if Malik has documents or recordings — which, to be clear, he has not mentioned publicly — this could seriously disrupt the narratives around cross-border counterterrorism diplomacy.
Community Response
The reaction from Kashmir has been muted, possibly because of the legal language and the broader fatigue over separatist politics. In Srinagar, a few political analysts have said this is “just another chapter” in a long story of state secrets and insurgency intrigue. One analyst from Kashmir University commented anonymously: “Nothing Yasin Malik says will erase the fact that he led a banned organization. Still, if what he says is even half true, we deserve a fuller declassified story.”
Looking Ahead
This case will now move forward in the Delhi High Court, and more details may emerge in hearings over the coming weeks. Whether the affidavit leads to any official admissions or fresh investigations remains to be seen. But the claim — that a sitting prime minister conveyed gratitude for engagement with a terrorist leader — is not going away quietly anytime soon.
Expect more noise from political parties, legal circles, and the media as pressure mounts to either confirm or discredit the revelations. The truth, as ever, might be complicated. And maybe only partly knowable.
