Pakistan on Wednesday condemned the sentencing of Kashmiri separatist leader Yasin Malik by an Indian court in a terror funding case, saying Islamabad will continue to provide all possible support to the Kashmiris. A Delhi court on Wednesday handed out life sentence to sentenced Malik, one of the foremost separatist leaders of Jammu and Kashmir, saying the crimes were intended to strike at the "heart of the idea of India" and intended to forcefully secede J&K from Union of India. In a tweet, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif said "India can imprison Yasin Malik physically but it can never imprison the idea of freedom he symbolises. Life imprisonment for valiant freedom fighters will provide fresh impetus to Kashmiris' right to self-determination."
Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari, who had written to UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet asking her to urge India to acquit Malik from all charges, "strongly" condemned the sentencing.
"Pakistan stands with Kashmiri brothers and sisters, will continue to provide all possible support in their just struggle," he said in a tweet.
Pakistan Army Spokesperson Major General Babar Iftikhar also condemned the life sentence given to Malik on what he called "fabricated charges."
He said such "oppressive tactics cannot dampen the spirit of people of Kashmir in their just struggle".
The Foreign Office summoned the Indian Charge d'Affaires here and conveyed Pakistan's strongest condemnation of the sentence given to Malik.
