New Delhi, June 17: Interrogating the separatist leaders of Kashmir, the National Investigation Agency has come up with many interesting and unknown facts. The investigation agency has alleged that through their finding in the terror financing in Jammu and Kashmir it has been revealed that hard-line separatist leaders received funds from abroad and utilised them for personal gains, from amassing properties to paying for foreign education of their kin.
After the major crackdown on terror funding in the state of Jammu and Kashmir, the NIA interrogated several top leaders of Hurriyat Conference and other organisations. In this interrogation, the probe agency claimed that the arrested leaders had confessed to receiving funds from Pakistan to fuel separatist sentiments among the people of Kashmir Valley.
Interestingly, Masarat Alam, "the poster boy of stone pelters and violent agitations in Kashmir valley" has told NIA that Pakistan based agents route the funds through hawala operators which were transferred to the separatist leaders including Syed Shah Gilani Chairman. He also revealed that there are rifts in the Hurriyat Conference regarding collection and use of fund.
In a statement issued Sunday, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said the firebrand leader of Duktaran-e-Milat, Asiya Andrabi, was grilled by it about the educational expenses of her son in Malaysia incurred by Zahoor Watali, who was arrested in a terror funding case.
"During interrogation, Asiya Andrabi admitted that she had been collecting funds and donations from foreign sources and Duktaran-e-Milat had been organising protests by Muslim women in the valley," it claimed.
The NIA has already approached the relevant authorities for providing evidence relating to certain bank accounts used by Asiya Andrabi's son Mohammad bin Qasim while he was in the university. Another separatist leader, Shabbir Shah, had to face some tough time when he was confronted about his businesses, including a hotel in Pahalgam which is allegedly funded through foreign funds received by him from Pakistan.
The NIA had registered a case in May, 2017 against terrorists belonging to Jammat ud Dawah, Duktaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and other separatist leaders in the state for raising, receiving and collecting funds to fuel separatist and terrorist activities and entering into a larger conspiracy for causing disruption in Kashmir Valley and for waging war against India.
The agency has so far charge-sheeted 13 accused, including leader of Jammat-ud Dawah Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, head of proscribed organisation Hizb-ul-Mujahideen Syed Salahuddin, seven separatist leaders, two hawala conduits and some stone-pelters.