Daily Times

It is hard for anyone with a soul to not let out a sigh at the sight of the tear-stained face of yet another Kashmir tragedy, Mrs Mushaal Hussain Mullick. And when she agreed to talk to me over the phone for an exclusive interview with Daily Times soon after the conviction of her husband and a true beacon of the separatist struggle simmering in a valley poets love to claim heaven on earth, I had expected just that: a voice of a meek, sorrow-battered woman who has nowhere to go and no doors to knock at. Instead, her confident yet warm, strong yet comforting voice thundering through my speaker knocked me off my own balance. There were moments when I found it difficult to discern who was indeed sitting on the other end: Mrs Mullick or Mr Malik?

Her go-getter attitude does not let her pause for any journalistic conventions. “We are running short on time, Miss Akram. Yasin Sb’s clock is ticking fast.”

She repeatedly interjects, reminding herself and her state that the person whose face roars through placards held in every solidarity procession only has two weeks left within which his “unlawful and bigoted” sentencing can be challenged before the International Court of Justice. “Because I am a legal citizen of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, the same privileges also apply to Yasin sb, by extension. If India can take up the plight of Kulbhushan Jadhav’s family and make a great spectacle of illusions, what is Pakistan waiting for?” she pleaded before exclaiming, “I need my state to step in for me in my time of great distress.”

She added, “As per rules, only member states have the right to access the court and file an appeal with it.” Pausing for a moment or more to recollect her thoughts, Mrs Mullick moves on to talk about the options on the table. Cautious, as she should be, to not let an extra word out! After all, the mysterious timing of his legal representation, Raja Tufail, suffering from a brain haemorrhage, which in turn, left Mr Malik up the creek without a paddle “to face judicially-orchestrated murder was ominous enough. Due to fears of dire consequences, she chose to not reveal many details about the legal and political deliberation but not before acknowledging that she was, indeed, in contact with several officials from the Foreign Ministry.

Mrs Mullick, who is also Chairperson of the Peace and Culture Organisation, has, on numerous occasions, aired her reservations about her husband’s security arrangements. Even three days before he was set to be presented before an NIA court in India, she had jumped in front of cameras to point out how the much-revered leader was being poisoned in Tihar Jail. Swallowing the sobs of an exasperated wife, she point-facedly told how Mr Malik was denied life-saving medicines despite suffering from a number of serious ailments. When I asked her about the situation there, she replied, “I am just as clueless as all of you. No law allows any state to tear families apart. We are not allowed any contact with him. My daughter has not listened to her father’s voice for a single time in these past eight years.”

Recollecting herself, she notes that Mr Malik had narrated a brief account of court proceedings to his sister; greenlighted by New Delhi. “They may take away his voice, they may mute his mic before the bench and they may close his ears to debate between the lawyers. But one thing they can never steal is the twinkle in his eyes and the smile on his lips.” Mr Malik has gained quite a following by famously thundering, “I will not beg,” something his wife very proudly refers to as him turning the table. “The vicious agenda of Modi’s India is before the world. All we need to do is force them to come out in the open.”

In the eyes of Mrs Mullick, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief already had all the bearings of a true hero before he was again pushed to the centre stage by the Modi Sarkar. By giving up arms in favour of peace decades ago, “he had realised the way to go about (the struggle) much earlier than others. He is not part of the problem. He represents the solution.” She further made note of how he had forced the Indian media to report whether “he was involved in any terrorist activity or violence in 28 years.” News reports circulating on mainstream media outlets dared cover his challenge: “If Indian Intelligence proved this, then I will also retire from politics. I will accept the hanging. With seven Prime Ministers, I have worked.”

Mr Malik’s wife beamed, “If this isn’t a victory, what is?”

She wishes to be reunited with the love of her life at the ICJ hearing and hopes for support from Islamabad. “Take me to the Hague so that I can see my husband. Who knows when would I hear from him next?”

Reading the tea leaves about the picturesque valley, she thought it better to warn the obstinate authorities ruling Kashmir with an iron rod. “You are fanning the flames of a tornado you can no longer control.” Stripped of any hesitation, she enunciated each word slowly, “Frustrated youth, without the leading light of Yasin, are like endless kegs of kerosene, ready to burst any moment.” “This time, the intifada would open spillways all the way to their power headquarters.” The crux of her narrative remained the unlawful nature of Mr Malik’s conviction.

How could an individual from an occupied territory be tried in the hallways of the oppressor, she wondered. “Has India forgotten how it played with the Instrument of Accession, instantly making each one of Kashmiri born since then, a member of an invaded group?”

Mrs Mullick’s steadfastness is inspiring to say the least. While the iron lady holds back, hiding behind the pain of others, at the slightest attempt to scrape back a layer, she cannot hide the reality: she may not wear the cape, but she, too is a hero.

The writer is OpEd Editor (DailyTimes) and can be reached at durenayab786@gmail.com. She tweets @dureakram.