If Yasin Malik gets death sentence, BJP will welcome it: Altaf Thakur

Srinagar, May 30 (PTI) Days after the NIA approached the Delhi High Court seeking death penalty for jailed separatist leader Yasin Malik, BJP leader Altaf Thakur on Tuesday said if the court awards death sentence to the JKLF chief, his party will welcome it.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on May 26 approached the Delhi High Court seeking death penalty for Malik, who was awarded life term by a trial court in a terror funding case.

“Yasin Malik is a killer and a killer should be given capital punishment. If he is handed death sentence by the court, BJP will welcome it,” Thakur, who is Jammu and Kashmir BJP spokesperson, told reporters here.

He said Malik was involved in several terror-related cases.

“Yasin Malik has got hundreds of Kashmiris killed and has always conspired against the nation,” he claimed.

Thakur, who led a protest against the killing of circus worker Deepu Kumar on Monday by terrorists, warned Pakistan to stop bloodshed of innocents in Kashmir.

Thakur said Pakistan is frustrated by the successful culmination of a G20 event in Kashmir.

Asked if the situation in Kashmir has deteriorated, Thakur said, “If terrorists come in the dark and carry out a cowardly act, it does not mean the situation in Kashmir is bad.”