Kashmiri militant Asiya Andrabi gets life imprisonment for terror activities 

A special court on March 25 sentenced Kashmiri separatist leader Asiya Andrabi to life imprisonment in a terror funding case, marking one of the most significant convictions of a separatist figure in recent years.

The verdict was delivered by a court hearing cases investigated by India’s National Investigation Agency (NIA), which had charged Andrabi and her associates with conspiring to wage war against the Indian state, raising funds for militant activities, and promoting secessionist violence in Jammu and Kashmir.

Andrabi, the founder of the banned outfit Dukhtaran-e-Millat, was arrested in 2018 as part of a wider crackdown on separatist networks accused of financing unrest in the Valley. Prosecutors argued that she played a central role in mobilising funds and ideological support for militant groups, while also coordinating protests that often turned violent. Her husband, Ashiq Faktoo is already serving a life sentence in the murder of a human rights activist, Hriday Nath Wanchoo In 1992. 

The court, in its judgment, held that the charges against Andrabi were supported by documentary evidence, witness testimonies, and financial trails uncovered during the investigation. It observed that the activities of the accused were not merely political dissent but amounted to “serious offences threatening the sovereignty and integrity of India.”

Two of her close associates were also handed 30 years of sentence in the same case, under provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).  

Andrabi, who has been in judicial custody since her arrest, did not publicly respond to the sentencing. The sentencing comes amid a broader decline in overt separatist activity in Kashmir following the abrogation of Article 370 in 2019 and sustained security operations. Many prominent separatist leaders have either been detained, withdrawn from public life, or face ongoing legal cases.