NIA grills Kashmir separatist leaders over Pakistani funding

Representational image

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) questioned for the third consecutive day on Monday several separatist leaders in Jammu and Kashmir over the alleged funding from Pakistan-based terrorist groups.

An NIA official told IANS that the counter-terror agency questioned Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader Ghazi Javed Baba and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) leader Farooq Ahmed Dar, who is also known as Bitta Karate, regarding their involvement in raising, receiving funds through illegal hawala channel for stoking violence in Kashmir.

The two separatist leaders were earlier questioned on Sunday by the NIA team in Srinagar.

On Sunday, the probe agency collected details of 13 accused and charge-sheeted persons in cases pertaining to arson attacks on schools and public property as part of the alleged conspiracy to perpetuate violence in Kashmir.

The agency on Saturday questioned suspended Hurriyat leader Nayeem Khan - who was shown in a sting operation by a news channel confessing that Pakistan was pumping money to stoke trouble in the valley in connivance with Hurriyat leaders. 

The channel aired the sting video on May 16 showing Khan allegedly admitting that money from Pakistan-based organisations was routed through hawala.

The official said the agency was probing all aspects of funding of separatist leaders and use of these funds in fuelling the unrest in the valley after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen militant Burhan Wani.

The agency registered a preliminary inquiry against Hurriyat Chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani and his close aide and Hurriyat provincial president Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar and Javed Baba.

The separatist leaders were alleged to have received money from the Lashkar-e-Taiba and other sources in Pakistan to fund stone-pelting and violent protests in Jammu and Kashmir.