Malik submits no defense in 1990 murder trial, seeks death penalty

Jailed separatist leader Yasin Malik has informed a Srinagar court that he will not contest the trial in the 1990 murder of Kashmiri Pandit nurse Sarla Bhat and has requested the court to consider imposing the death penalty. In a separate personal announcement contained within the same legal submission, Malik declared his intention to divorce his Pakistani wife, Mushaal Hussein Mullick. Malik, the chief of the banned Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), submitted a 25-page statement to the Additional Sessions Court in Srinagar on September 3, 2026. He is currently serving a life sentence in Delhi's Tihar Jail in a separate terror-funding case. The court has scheduled the next hearing in the Bhat murder case for September 19. In his statement, Malik wrote that after deep reflection and performing Istikhara, an Islamic prayer for guidance, he decided not to further contest the proceedings. He clarified that this decision should not be treated as an admission of guilt or acceptance of the allegations against him. Malik maintained he has been falsely implicated due to political circumstances.