Prepared for passport confiscation, arrest on return: JKLF chief

Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front chief Yasin Malik, who created flutters in India by sharing the dais with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed in Pakistan, on Friday said he is prepared for the confiscation of his passport or his arrest after returning home next week.  

"I will be flying back to Delhi from Lahore on March 9," said Malik.

Asked about calls for the revocation of his passport after Saeed joined him at a protest in Islamabad against the hanging of Afzal Guru, Malik said, "It is their wish if they wish to confiscate my passport or to arrest me. Jail is my second home".

Saeed, blamed by India for masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks, had briefly participated in the protest organised by the JKLF in Islamabad on February 10.

After photographs appeared in the media of Saeed and Malik, demands were made by political parties for the cancellation of Malik's passport.

“The government needs to come out with an action plan. They must arrest, forfeit his passport and take action against Malik and tell the nation. This is a monumental mistake on the part of the home ministry and we will raise it at all forums," the Bharatiya Janata Party had said.

Reports in the Indian media said Malik's activities in Pakistan could cost him the freedom to travel abroad. Authorities could also decide not to reissue a passport to him.

Malik visits Pakistan several times a year to meet his wife and his young daughter.