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Pak High Commission ‘supporting’ separatists to create unrest in Kashmir: NIA on J-K terror funding

The NIA had earlier on Friday named Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik and four others in its second chargesheet in connection with a terror funding case.

SNS | New Delhi | October 5, 2019 8:52 am

Pak High Commission ‘supporting’ separatists to create unrest in Kashmir: NIA on J-K terror funding

National Investigation Agency (NIA) officials.(File Photo: IANS)

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Friday alleged that the “Pakistan High Commission is supporting separatists to create unrest in (the Kashmir) valley”.

“Role of Pakistan High Commission in supporting the separatist and other networks through transfer of funds via financial conduits and in providing directions to continue the unrest in the Kashmir Valley has also been clearly established,” a statement from the agency said.

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The NIA had earlier on Friday named Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik and four others in its second chargesheet in connection with a terror funding case under the new Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

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The charge sheet, running into 200 pages, named Malik, as well as the founder and President of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Shah, Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi, All Party Hurriyat Conference General Secretary Masarat Alam and former MLA Rashid Engineer.

The agency charged them of allegedly receiving funds from Pakistan to carry out terrorist activities and stone-pelting in 2010 and 2016.

According to NIA officials, fresh material has surfaced in the form of social media evidence, call records, oral and documentary evidence.

The agency has also claimed that it has recovered some videos wherein the said accused persons were seen, exhorting general public for illegal acts, sympathising with the militants and seeking direct support from Pakistan.

The new material shows the relationship of the persons chargesheeted with Jama’at-ud-Da’wah (JuD) chief and 2008 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin.

“Various incriminating chats and emails have been recovered from the email accounts of Yasin Malik and Shabir Shah wherein description of receipt of funds from Pakistan and various other countries have been revealed. It has also been found that Yasin Malik has been getting funds from foreign countries through hawala channels for causing unrest and insurgency in Kashmir,” the NIA said.

The agency further states that it has recovered suffiencent evidence against suspected terrorist Masarat Alam.

“Investigations have also established the nexus of Aasiya Andrabi, leader of proscribed organization Dukhtaran-e-Millat with different militant and terrorist organizations and with hawala financial conduit Zahoor Watali,” the statement said.

The agency also claimed that the role of Engineer Rashid in the alleged conspiracy to destabilize Kashmir and cause unrest has also been revealed.

The court will take cognizance of the matter on October 23.

The NIA in 2017 arrested several separatists belonging to the two factions of Hurriyat Conference led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Syed Ali Shah Geelani, respectively, for terror funding.

In its first charge sheet filed last year, the agency named Geelani’s son-in-law Altaf Fantosh, Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmed Shah Watali, Naeem Khan, Raja Mehrajudin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmed Bhat, alias Peer Saifullah, Aftab Hilali Shah, alias Shahid ul Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, alias Bitta Karate, Mohammad Akbar Khandey, alias Ayaz Akbar and Javed Ahmed Bhat, among others.

The NIA had registered the case in May 2017 against various separatist leaders who were acting in connivance with terrorist organisations like Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Millat, and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for collecting funds through illegal means for funding terrorist activities and stone-pelting in Jammu and Kashmir.

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The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010. A division bench comprising Justice Raja Vijayaraghavan and Justice P V Balakrishnan suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail to him after considering his appeal against the NIA court’s conviction in the case Considering the prolonged detention and citing the potential for trial delays, the court suspended Nasar’s sentence and granted conditional bail, taking into account that some co-accused with similar allegations had already been released after serving shorter terms. The court noted that he had already spent nine years in jail and that delays in resolving appeals could justify suspending a convict’s prison term. It also observed that other accused in the case had received lesser sentences and had already been released after serving their terms. “The applicant has been undergoing incarceration, at the pre-conviction and post-conviction phases, for over 9 years. Furthermore, the fact that the accused facing the same allegations were earlier imposed a lesser term of imprisonment and have been released after having undergone the sentence is a factor that cannot be ignored. Additionally, the appeals filed by the NIA against the findings of the learned Sessions Judge are being considered in separate appeals, which have not yet been taken up. “There is also the likelihood of delay, as the prime accused has surrendered, and the learned Sessions Judge may have to take up the trial and dispose of it in accordance with the law and some of the original records may be required for that purpose. In view of these facts and circumstances, we are of the considered opinion that the sentence imposed on the applicant can be suspended pending the consideration of the appeal.” The court said The court, however, imposed strict conditions for Nasar’s bail. He is not supposed to provide a bond of Rs 1 lakh with two sureties, refrain from leaving the country without the court’s permission, avoid interfering with the trial or witnesses, and not commit similar offences while on bail The gruesome incident dates back to July 4, 2010, when Joseph, a professor at Newman College, Thodupuzha, was returning from Sunday mass with his family, members of the now-banned Popular Front of India (PFI) attacked him, allegedly in retaliation for a question paper he set, which contained a passage that they claimed insulted Prophet Mohammed was derogatory. His right hand was chopped off in this attack. Nasar was accused of playing a critical role in the attack. Investigations revealed his involvement in recruiting gang members, assigning specific tasks, collecting funds, procuring communication devices, and maintaining communication links with key conspirators.

The Kerala High Court, on Thursday, granted bail to M K Nasar, one of the individuals convicted by the special NIA court last year in the case of chopping the hands of Professor T J Joseph in 2010.