Yasin Malik claims ex-PM Manmohan Singh thanked him for meeting Hafiz Saeed

Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik, in an affidavit submitted to the Delhi High Court, has claimed that former prime minister Manmohan Singh expressed gratitude after he met Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan in 2006.

According to the affidavit, cited earlier in a Hindustan Times report, Malik—then commander-in-chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF)—said he met Hafiz Saeed on the instructions of senior Intelligence Bureau (IB) officials, and later briefed Singh in New Delhi.

“In February 2006, I was invited by PM Manmohan Singh in New Delhi for formal dialogue. He assured me that India was trying hard to resolve the Kashmir issue… Later that evening, I briefed him on my meetings in Pakistan, including with Hafiz Saeed. He conveyed his gratitude for my efforts, time and dedication,” Malik wrote in the affidavit.

The separatist leader said he had informed a trial court at the time about his planned visit to Pakistan for earthquake relief work, during which he was “specifically requested” to meet Saeed and other militant leaders. Malik alleged that the meeting—arranged at the behest of then IB special director V.K. Joshi—was later portrayed against him.

The affidavit also details Malik’s interactions with other Indian leaders. He recalled meeting Atal Bihari Vajpayee in 1995, when Vajpayee was leader of opposition. “I was a young boy… your country had promised us democratic rights but your forces are killing our people. His reply was polite: ‘Yasin ji, even if it is a fragile thread, do stay connected with us,’” Malik claimed.

Malik is currently serving a life sentence in Tihar Jail in a terror funding case. On August 11, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) sought the death penalty against him. The Delhi High Court has given him four weeks to respond, with the matter listed for hearing on November 10.