Rubaiya Saeed was released from JKLF custody in exchange for terrorists.
Rubaiya Saeed was released from JKLF custody in exchange for terrorists.
the story So Far: A Jammu court on Tuesday rejected the plea of Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik to appear in court and cross-examine witnesses in the 1989 Rubaiya Saeed kidnapping case, a CBI lawyer said. Ms. Saeed identified Mr. Malik as one of her kidnappers in July 2022.
“When he gave his statement (in front of the court) he clearly said that he (Yasin Malik) is the one. He said that he is the same and his name is Yasin Malik. When asked a question about Malik and the pictures were shown, he specifically said ‘I remember him clearly’, advocate Monica Kohli told Hindu.
What happened in 1989?
Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of former Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed and sister of former Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti, was abducted on 8 December 1989 at around 3.45 pm, when she was returning home from a medical college in a minibus. She was 23 years old at that time. The kidnapping was carried out near Nowgam near the Mufti residence. Barely a week before the incident, his father Mr. Sayeed had taken the oath of office in the VP Singh government. Four armed men intercepted the bus and Ms. Saeed was taken in a car and taken to an undisclosed location.
The JKLF claimed responsibility for the kidnapping and demanded the release of Abdul Hameed Sheikh, Ghulam Nabi Bhat, Noor Mohammad Kalwal, Mohammad Altaf and Javed Ahmed Zargar in exchange for Ms. Later, the JKLF dropped the demand for Zargar’s release and instead demanded the release of Abdul Ahad Waza.
Farooq Abdullah was the Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir at the time of the incident, and he was on a visit to London for a medical check-up. Dr. Abdullah planned to return to the country immediately to handle the situation. Meanwhile, officials from the Central Government and the Intelligence Bureau (IB) reached Srinagar to hold talks with the JKLF for the release of Ms.
in your book Kashmir: The Land Of RegretsMusa Raza, the then Chief Secretary of Jammu and Kashmir, writes that a Crisis Management Group (CMG) was formed under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Mr. Singh to explore ways to free Ms. Saeed. The CMG also included other ministers, cabinet secretaries and IB chiefs.
Abdul Hamid Sheikh, one of the JKLF members whose release was sought, was being treated at the Sher-e-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences in Srinagar after being injured. Dr. Guru, who sympathized with JKLF, was in charge of his treatment.
Zafar Meraj, Maulvi Abbas and Mir Mustafa acted as middlemen in negotiations with JKLF. Recounting the events in his book, Mr. Raza writes that the government eventually agreed to direct talks, and he, along with an IB officer, was picked up from the designated place and taken to a house in old Srinagar where Abdul He met with Majid Wani, father of Ashfaq Wani, one of the top JKLF leaders. However, the move did not lead to Ms. Saeed’s immediate release.
As the days passed, the authorities were under pressure to secure Ms. Saeed’s release. After continuous negotiations, it was decided that Ms. Saeed would be released three hours after the release of the arrested militants.
Chief Minister Dr. Abdullah was reportedly unhappy with the central government pressurizing him to release the militants. In his opinion, this would set up a trend of kidnapping.
On December 13, the terrorists were brought to the house of Justice ML Bhat and handed over to the mediators. Ms. Saeed reached Justice Bhat’s house after 7 pm that evening. He was immediately taken to Delhi and the intelligence officials did not answer any questions.
What more kidnappings happened after Rubaiya Saeed’s kidnapping?
Yes. As the authorities feared, this release of terrorists in exchange for an important person prompted more kidnappings in Kashmir. These included Kashmir University Vice-Chancellor Dr. Musheer-ul-Haq, who was kidnapped and murdered, and Nahida Imtiaz, daughter of former minister Saifuddin Soz – who was kidnapped and released.