Pakistan has appointed Mishal Hussain Malik, wife of the jailed Kashmiri separatist Yasin Malik, as a special advisor to the country's newly appointed caretaker Prime Minister Anwaarul Haq Kakar.
Malik's appointment drew a sharp reaction from the ruling BJP, which said that the move vindicated India's charge that Pakistan harbours terrorists who attack India.
Malik's name was included in the five Special Advisor to Prime Minister (SAPM) list unveiled late on Thursday night after President Arif Alvi administered an oath to the 19-member caretaker Cabinet at Aiwan-e-Sadr, the presidential house.
Mishal, a Pakistani national married to Malik, was appointed special advisor to the caretaker Prime Minister Kakar on human rights and women empowerment.
A special advisor has a lower status than a junior minister but provides assistance to the prime minister on key relevant issues.
Among other four special advisors, Jawad Sohrab Malilk has been appointed SAPM for overseas Pakistanis, vice admiral (retired) Iftikhar Rao as an advisor on maritime affairs, TV anchor and writer Wasih Shah on tourism, and Syeda Arifa Zehra as an advisor on federal education and professional training.
Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin married Pakistani artist Mishal in Rawalpindi in 2009. The two met while Yasin was on a tour of Pakistan in 2005.
"Mishal Hussain Malik's appointment endorses India's claim that Pakistan is harbouring terrorism and terrorists," BJP national general secretary and its in-charge for Jammu & Kashmir Tarun Chugh said in a statement in New Delhi.
He said Pakistan has always provided refuge to "most wanted terrorists" involved in subversive activities in India.
"Instead of reining in elements inimical to peace, Pakistan is repeatedly resorting to such actions that harm the national interest of India. We urge international bodies to take cognizance of the matter and stop Pakistan from giving political space to terrorists," Chugh said.
Mishal and her daughter reside in Islamabad. Born in 1985, Mishal graduated from the London School of Economics.
Yasin was sentenced to life imprisonment by a trial court in a terror funding case in May.
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has approached the Delhi High Court seeking the death penalty for Yasin, who is serving his sentence in Tihar Jail in Delhi.
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