Masarat Alam revealed rift among Kashmiri separatists on funds, says NIA

The National Investigation Agency has levelled fresh allegations against four accused, taken into custody this month, in a case of terror funding in the Kashmir Valley. It said Alam revealed in his custodial interrogation that “Pakistan-based agents route the funds through hawala operators which were transferred to the separatist leaders including Syed Ali Shah Gilani, chairman, All Parties Hurriyat Conference.” “Masarat Alam also revealed that there were rifts in the Hurriyat Conference regarding collection and use of funds,” the agency said. “During interrogation, Yasin Malik revealed that he was instrumental in bringing together the disparate factions of the Hurriyat Conference and formed the JRL, which spearheaded the violent agitations in 2016 in the Kashmir Valley by issuing ‘protest calendars’ leading to economic shutdown for over four months and also caused death and injuries to civilians and security forces during the violent protests,” the NIA said. Andrabi reportedly 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.” The agency also claimed that “Andrabi was confronted with evidence regarding funding of educational expenses of her son in Malaysia from 2011 onwards through foreign remittances made by Zahoor Watali.” “The NIA has already approached the concerned authorities for providing evidence relating to certain bank accounts used by Asiya Andrabi’s son while he was studying in the University,” the NIA said. On May 30, 2017, the agency registered a case against terrorists belonging to Jamat-ud-Dawah, Duktaran-e-Millat, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and other separatist leaders in J&K for raising, receiving and collecting funds for “funding separatist and terrorist activities” and entering into a “larger conspiracy” for causing disruption in the Kashmir Valley and for “waging war against India.” During the investigation conducted so far, the NIA has charge-sheeted 13 accused including Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, seven second-rung separatist leaders, two hawala conduits and some stone-pelters.