NEW DELHI: Jailed Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Muhammad Yasin Malik has decided to end his marriage to his wife, Mushaal Malik, in a deeply personal 25-page affidavit submitted before a TADA/POTA court in Jammu, where a murder case against him is currently being heard.
Malik, who is lodged in Tihar Jail in New Delhi, addressed the affidavit to the three people closest to him — his mother, his wife Mushaal, and his daughter Razia Sultana.
The affidavit has drawn renewed attention to Malik’s prolonged incarceration, his legal battles and the personal impact of his imprisonment on his family.
حریت رہنما یاسین ملک کا بیان حلفی، اہلیہ کو نکاح سے آزاد کرنے کا فیصلہ اور یاسین ملک کی بیٹی رضیہ سلطان کا دل دہلا دینے والا ویڈیو پیغام!
یاسین ملک کا 25 صفحات پر مشتمل۔مبینہ بیانِ حلفی، مشعال ملک کو نکاح سے آزاد کرنے کا تلخ فیصلہ، بیٹی کے نام بھی درد بھرا پیغام pic.twitter.com/e4Q6TDEWqX
— Urdu Report (@UrduReportpk) September 1, 2026
Decision to Free Wife from Nikah
In the affidavit, Yasin Malik said he had decided to free his wife from their marital bond before his possible execution. He explained that he had been unable to maintain normal communication with his wife and daughter during the past eight years and did not want his wife to spend the rest of her life carrying the burden of his circumstances.
Malik wrote in his affidavit:
"Through this affidavit, I also wish to address my wife and my daughter. For the last eight years, I have not been able to hear your voices or communicate with you, as I was not permitted phone calls or video conferencing with you. I know that my time with you has been limited and uncertain. You are Twenty (20) years younger than me, and I do not want you to spend the rest of your life carrying the burden of my circumstances or living as a widow. I therefore request you to find the courage to begin a new chapter of your life with dignity and hope. I shall always love, respect and remember both of you in this world and in the next life. Wherever my destiny takes me, my prayers, affection and blessings will always remain with you. That, before I will be hanged, I have taken the decision to separate you from the bond of our Nikah. I don’t know how I will pronounce separation from you – Nelson-Mandela helped me to pronounce my true feelings:”
Tribute to His Wife
Malik then reflected on his relationship with his wife and the life they had tried to build together. He wrote:
"I shall personally never regret the life comrade Nomzamo and I tried to share together. Circumstance beyond our control, however, dictated it should be otherwise. I part from my wife with no recriminations. I embrace her with all the love and affection I have nursed for her inside and outside prison from the moment I first met her. Ladies and gentlemen, I hope you will appreciate the pain I have gone through.”
Regret Over Family Life
In another part of the affidavit, Malik expressed regret over his inability to fulfil his role as a husband and father while in prison.
He wrote:
"Perhaps I was blinded to certain things because of the pain. I felt for not being able to fulfil my role as a husband to my wife and father to my children. But just as I am convinced that my wife’s life while I was in prison was more difficult than mine., my own return was also more difficult for her than it was for me. She married a man who soon lost her; that man became a myth; and then that myth wanted to be just a man after all.”
Reference to His Daughter’s Wedding
Recalling his daughter’s wedding, Malik also spoke about the personal sacrifices associated with the life of a freedom fighter.
He stated:
"As I later said at my daughter Zindzli’s wedding, it seems to be the destiny of freedom fighters to have unstable personal lives. When your life is the struggle, as mine was, there is little room left for family. That has always been my greatest regret, and the most painful aspect of the choice I made.”
Children Grew Up Without Their Father
Malik also referred to the impact of his absence on his children, writing:
"…We watched our children growing without our guidance… When we came out of prison, my children said, ‘We thought we had a father who would one day come back….'”
He further wrote:
"To our dismay, our father came home and he left us alone because he was now becoming the father of the nation.”
Affidavit Highlights Personal Cost of Long Incarceration
The contents of the affidavit present a deeply personal account of Malik’s prolonged separation from his family. Alongside his position on the legal proceedings against him, the document highlights his concerns about his wife and daughter and the consequences of spending years in prison.
Malik remains lodged in Tihar Jail, New Delhi, while the murder case referred to in the affidavit is being heard before the TADA/POTA court in Jammu.
