Back جبهة تحرير جامو كشمير Arabic Front d'Alliberament de Jammu i Caixmir Catalan Frente de Liberación de Jammu y Cachemira Spanish جبهه آزادیبخش جامو و کشمیر Persian जम्मू कश्मीर लिबरेशन फ़्रंट Hindi جموں کشمیٖر لِبَرٮ۪شَن فرنٛٹ Kashmiri ജമ്മു കശ്മീർ ലിബറേഷൻ ഫ്രണ്ട് Malayalam ਜੰਮੂ ਕਸ਼ਮੀਰ ਲਿਬਰੇਸ਼ਨ ਫਰੰਟ Punjabi Front Wyzwolenia Dżammu i Kaszmiru Polish Frente de Libertação de Jammu e Caxemira Portuguese
Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front | |
|---|---|
| Abbreviation | JKLF |
| Leader | Yasin Malik |
| Chairman | Yasin Malik |
| Founders | Amanullah Khan Maqbool Bhat |
| Founded | May 29, 1977 Birmingham, United Kingdom |
| Banned | March 22, 2019 (Indian branch in the Kashmir Valley)[1] |
| Split from | Azad Kashmir Plebiscite Front |
| Preceded by | National Liberation Front |
| Headquarters | Muzaffarabad, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan |
| Think tank | JKLF Media Cell |
| Student wing | Jammu Kashmir Student Liberation Front (JKSLF) |
| Youth wing | JKLF Youth Wing |
| Women's wing | JKLF Women Wing |
| Ideology | Kashmiri nationalism Separatism |
| Regional affiliation | All Parties Hurriyat Conference |
| Colors | Green Red White |
| Election symbol | |
 Maple Leaf | |
 | |
| Website | |
| jklf | |
The Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) is a formerly armed, political[2] separatist organisation active in both the Indian-administered and Pakistani-administered territories of Kashmir. It was founded by Amanullah Khan, with Maqbool Bhat also credited as a co-founder. Originally a militant wing of the Azad Kashmir Plebiscite Front, the organization officially changed its name to the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front in Birmingham, England on 29 May 1977; from then until 1994 it was an active Kashmiri militant organization.[3][4] The JKLF first established branches in several cities and towns of the United Kingdom and other countries in Europe, as well as in the United States and across the Middle East. In 1982, it established a branch in the Pakistani-administered territory of Azad Jammu and Kashmir, and by 1987, it had established a branch in the Indian-administered Kashmir Valley.
After 1994, the JKLF wing in Indian-administered Kashmir, under the leadership of Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik, declared an "indefinite ceasefire" and reportedly disbanded its militant wing. Following this, the organization committed itself to a political struggle in order to achieve its objective of independence for the entire region of the former princely state of Jammu and Kashmir from both India and Pakistan.[3] However, the JKLF branch in Azad Jammu and Kashmir did not agree with this change of direction and subsequently split off from the JKLF wing in the Kashmir Valley. In 2005, the two groups merged again, retaining the organization's original identity.
Although the JKLF has only Muslim members, it is notionally secular. It continues to assert that a secular, independent Kashmir—free of both India and Pakistan—is its eventual goal.[5][6] Despite having received support in the form of weapons and training from the Pakistani military,[7] it regards Pakistan as an 'occupation power' and carries out a political struggle against it in Azad Jammu and Kashmir.[8]
The JKLF in the Kashmir Valley was officially banned by the Indian government under an anti-terror law passed in March 2019—one month after the Pulwama attack by Jaish-e-Mohammed.[9][10]
- ^ "A Brief History of the J&K Liberation Front, Now Banned Under UAPA". The Wire. Retrieved 23 March 2019.
- ^ Congress, Library. "Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front". Library of Congress. Retrieved 26 July 2023.
- ^ a b Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada (7 August 2003). "Pakistan: Activities of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF); whether the JKLF practices forced recruitment, and if so, whether this is done in collaboration with the Sipah-e-Sahaba Pakistan (SSP)". UNHCR. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
- ^ "Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front". SATP. 2001. Retrieved 9 February 2011.
- ^ Jaffrelot, Pakistan: Nationalism without a Nation 2002, p. 186.
- ^ Pakistan: Activities of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), UNHCR,2003-08-07
- ^ Bose, Kashmir: Roots of Conflict, Paths to Peace 2003, p. 3
- ^ Jaffrelot, Pakistan: Nationalism without a Nation 2002, p. 299.
- ^ Singh, Vijaita (23 March 2019). "Centre bans JKLF under anti-terror law". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 25 March 2019.
- ^ "Yasin Malik-led Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front banned under anti-terror law". 22 March 2019. Retrieved 22 March 2019.