The JKLF, a Kashmiri separatist movement, is considered a 'banned organization' in India, and is accused of instigating terrorism. The group demands either separation, or a merger with Pakistan.
Malik was already jailed in Indian-occupied Jammu since March 2019, when in April 2019 the National Investigation Agency (NIA) arrested him again in a two-year-old case of "terrorism and terror funding", moving him to Tihar Jail in New Delhi.
Malik has been held in Tihar Jail in solitary confinement since April 2019. His family and associates have complained of him being denied the rights afforded to all prisoners, and claim that they haven't been allowed to see him.
His wife, Mushaal Hussein Mullick, appealed to Imran Khan in a press conference on Sunday, to stand up for Yasin and the Kashmiri cause.
She said that the Modi government will be issuing a judicial verdict on the case against Yasin on May 25, which would either be a death sentence, or lifetime imprisonment.
She reminded Imran of his friendship with the incarcerated leader, and asked him to either dedicate his upcoming long march to Yasin Malik and the Kashmiri cause, or to move it forward by a few days.
"I know internal politics is very important, but there is no harm in moving your long march forward by a day or two," she appealed to the PTI chairperson.
Mushaal said that she hasn't seen her husband in eight years, and stated that the Indian government was murdering all the Kashmiri liberation leaders one by one, adding "I see the faces of [Kashmiri] martyrs everywhere."
"This struggle runs on the blood of Kashmiris, the water you drink or perform ablutions with is the blood of Kashmiris, it is our sacrifice."