SRINAGAR: Three witnesses, including former Kashmir Bar Association president Mian Abdul Qayoom, failed to appear in a special court on Thursday in connection with the 1989 abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union home minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed, The Tribune reported.
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief and separatist leader Yasin Malik and his associate Rafiq Pahloo appeared via video-conferencing. Pahloo was given the final opportunity by the court to file objections to an application seeking cancellation of his bail in connection with the killing of four Indian Air Force officers in 1990 and the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed.
The report added that four eyewitnesses were summoned to appear before the special court. Among them, Mian Qayoom did not appear and submitted a medical certificate that he is admitted in a hospital. Another eyewitness (number 23) is dead.
The court would again hear the case of the killing of the IAF personnel on January 18 and the Rubaiya Sayeed case the next day.
Pahloo, with the last opportunity to file objections to the bail cancellation application, faces allegations of violating bail conditions by engaging in separatist activities. The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) had sought bail cancellation, citing Pahloo’s involvement in separatist activities.
