A ban under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act may be imposed on both factions of the Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.
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Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu New DelhiAugust 22, 2021UPDATED: August 23, 2021 01:02 IST
(L to R) Separatist leaders Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. (File photo)
The scattered factions of the Hurriyat Conference, running as a political platform for the separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir for over two decades, are likely to face a ban under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, officials said on Sunday.
This comes after a recent investigation into the allegations of granting of MBBS seats to Kashmiri students by Pakistani institutions indicated that the money collected from the aspirants by some organisations which were part of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate was being used for funding terror organisations in the union territory.
"Both the factions of the Hurriyat are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, under which "if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful," officials said.
READ: Pak-based Hurriyat faction prepares Kashmir-centric campaign on separatist leaders' death anniversary
However, this is the first time since 1993 that the organisation has been banned.
The pro-Pakistani and pro-separatist organisation Jamat-E-Islami was banned by the Centre in 2019. In addition, Asiya Andrabi led Dukhtaran-e-Millat and Yasin Malik's JKLF, which were also a part of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate, were also banned in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Nearly two years after abrogation of Article 370, the Centre is likely to go ahead with the ban.
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The officials further added that the proposal was raised in accordance with the Centre's policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.
ALL ABOUT HURRIYAT CONFERENCE
The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was formed in July 1993 when militancy was at its peak in Jammu and Kashmir and there were speculations that it would be dealt with in the same manner as it was done in Punjab, where a Khalistani movement had been neutralised.
The conglomerate included 26 groups, including some pro-Pakistan and banned outfits such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, JKLF and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, along with the People's Conference and the Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
The separatist conglomerate was split into two factions in 2005--Hurriyat (G) and Hurriyat (M)-- with the moderate group being led by the Mirwaiz and the hard-line headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
However, Geelani, 91, is no longer leading the G faction as he is ailing.
CASE OF FUNDING SEPERATIST, TERRORIST ACTIVITIES IN J&K
The officials said an investigation into funding of terror groups revealed the alleged involvement of secessionist and separatist leaders, including the members and cadres of the Hurriyat Conference who have been acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organisations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
ALSO READ: J&K cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq placed under house detention again, claims Hurriyat Conference
"The cadres raised funds in the country and from abroad through various illegal channels, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in the union territory. The funds collected were used for causing disruption in the Kashmir Valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, systematically burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India as part of a criminal conspiracy," the officials claimed.
The officials have supported the case for banning the two factions of the Hurriyat Conference under the UAPA, citing several cases related to terror funding, including the one being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in which several of the conglomerate's cadres were arrested and jailed.
Many of the second-rung cadres of both factions are in jail since 2017.
Among those in jail are Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of Geelani; businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali; Geelani's close aide Ayaz Akbar, who is also the spokesperson of the hardline separatist organisation Tehreek-e-Hurriyat; Peer Saifullah; Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesperson of the moderate Hurriyat Conference; Mehrajuddin Kalwal; Nayeem Khan; and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.
Later, JKLF chief Yaseen Malik, DeM head Asiya Andrabi and pro-Pakistan separatist Masarat Alam were also named in a supplementary charge sheet in a case of terror financing.
POLITICIAN-MILITANT NEXUS CASE
Another case which is likely to be the reason for banning the two factions is the one against PDP youth leader Waheed-ur-Rahman Parra, for his involvement in a case related to the alleged nexus between politicians and terror groups in the union territory.
It was alleged that he had paid Rs 5 crore to the son-in-law of Syed Ali Shah Geelani for keeping Kashmir in turmoil after the death of Burhan Wani in 2016, who was then the poster boy of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.
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The NIA alleged that after the death of Wani in an encounter with the Army in July 2016, Parra got in touch with Altaf Ahmad Shah, alias Altaf Fantoosh, and asked him to ensure that the Valley was kept on the boil with widespread unrest and stone-pelting.
ALSO READ: Kashmir: The promise and the peril
CASE OF 'SELLING' MBBS SEATS TO KASHMIRI STUDENTS
Last year, the Counter Intelligence (Kashmir), a branch of the CID department of Jammu and Kashmir Police, also registered a case following information that several unscrupulous persons, including some Hurriyat leaders, were hand in glove with some educational consultancies and selling Pakistan-based MBBS seats and admission to other professional courses in various colleges and universities.
At least four people, including Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Bhat, self-styled chairman of the Salvation Movement which is part of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, were arrested in this case.
It is alleged that the constituents of the Hurriyat Conference were "selling" MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money collected, at least partly, to support and fund terrorism.
During the probe, it had surfaced that individual Hurriyat leaders had their quota of seats which were sold to people desiring to obtain MBBS and other professional degrees in one way or the other, the officials said.
The officials said evidence showed that the money was "put into channels that ended up supporting programmes and projects pertaining to terrorism and separatism, like payment for organising stone pelting."
Citing an investigation, the officials said that the average cost of an MBBS seat in Pakistan was anything between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh. In some cases, the fee was brought down on the intervention of Hurriyat leaders. Depending upon the political heft of the Hurriyat leader who intervened, concessions were extended to aspiring students, the officials said.
(With inputs from PTI)
www.indiatoday.in
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Kamaljit Kaur Sandhu New DelhiAugust 22, 2021UPDATED: August 23, 2021 01:02 IST
(L to R) Separatist leaders Yasin Malik, Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. (File photo)
The scattered factions of the Hurriyat Conference, running as a political platform for the separatist movement in Jammu and Kashmir for over two decades, are likely to face a ban under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, officials said on Sunday.
This comes after a recent investigation into the allegations of granting of MBBS seats to Kashmiri students by Pakistani institutions indicated that the money collected from the aspirants by some organisations which were part of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate was being used for funding terror organisations in the union territory.
"Both the factions of the Hurriyat are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, under which "if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful," officials said.
READ: Pak-based Hurriyat faction prepares Kashmir-centric campaign on separatist leaders' death anniversary
However, this is the first time since 1993 that the organisation has been banned.
The pro-Pakistani and pro-separatist organisation Jamat-E-Islami was banned by the Centre in 2019. In addition, Asiya Andrabi led Dukhtaran-e-Millat and Yasin Malik's JKLF, which were also a part of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate, were also banned in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Nearly two years after abrogation of Article 370, the Centre is likely to go ahead with the ban.
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The officials further added that the proposal was raised in accordance with the Centre's policy of zero tolerance against terrorism.
ALL ABOUT HURRIYAT CONFERENCE
The All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was formed in July 1993 when militancy was at its peak in Jammu and Kashmir and there were speculations that it would be dealt with in the same manner as it was done in Punjab, where a Khalistani movement had been neutralised.
The conglomerate included 26 groups, including some pro-Pakistan and banned outfits such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, JKLF and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat, along with the People's Conference and the Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.
The separatist conglomerate was split into two factions in 2005--Hurriyat (G) and Hurriyat (M)-- with the moderate group being led by the Mirwaiz and the hard-line headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.
However, Geelani, 91, is no longer leading the G faction as he is ailing.
CASE OF FUNDING SEPERATIST, TERRORIST ACTIVITIES IN J&K
The officials said an investigation into funding of terror groups revealed the alleged involvement of secessionist and separatist leaders, including the members and cadres of the Hurriyat Conference who have been acting in connivance with active militants of proscribed terrorist organisations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
ALSO READ: J&K cleric Mirwaiz Umar Farooq placed under house detention again, claims Hurriyat Conference
"The cadres raised funds in the country and from abroad through various illegal channels, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in the union territory. The funds collected were used for causing disruption in the Kashmir Valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, systematically burning schools, damaging public property and waging war against India as part of a criminal conspiracy," the officials claimed.
The officials have supported the case for banning the two factions of the Hurriyat Conference under the UAPA, citing several cases related to terror funding, including the one being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in which several of the conglomerate's cadres were arrested and jailed.
Many of the second-rung cadres of both factions are in jail since 2017.
Among those in jail are Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of Geelani; businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali; Geelani's close aide Ayaz Akbar, who is also the spokesperson of the hardline separatist organisation Tehreek-e-Hurriyat; Peer Saifullah; Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesperson of the moderate Hurriyat Conference; Mehrajuddin Kalwal; Nayeem Khan; and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias 'Bitta Karate'.
Later, JKLF chief Yaseen Malik, DeM head Asiya Andrabi and pro-Pakistan separatist Masarat Alam were also named in a supplementary charge sheet in a case of terror financing.
POLITICIAN-MILITANT NEXUS CASE
Another case which is likely to be the reason for banning the two factions is the one against PDP youth leader Waheed-ur-Rahman Parra, for his involvement in a case related to the alleged nexus between politicians and terror groups in the union territory.
It was alleged that he had paid Rs 5 crore to the son-in-law of Syed Ali Shah Geelani for keeping Kashmir in turmoil after the death of Burhan Wani in 2016, who was then the poster boy of the banned Hizbul Mujahideen terror group.
Ban under UAPA likely to be imposed on both factions of Hurriyat Conference, say officials
A ban under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act may be imposed on both factions of the Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.
ALSO READ: Kashmir: The promise and the peril
CASE OF 'SELLING' MBBS SEATS TO KASHMIRI STUDENTS
Last year, the Counter Intelligence (Kashmir), a branch of the CID department of Jammu and Kashmir Police, also registered a case following information that several unscrupulous persons, including some Hurriyat leaders, were hand in glove with some educational consultancies and selling Pakistan-based MBBS seats and admission to other professional courses in various colleges and universities.
At least four people, including Mohammad Akbar Bhat alias Zaffar Bhat, self-styled chairman of the Salvation Movement which is part of the moderate Hurriyat Conference, were arrested in this case.
It is alleged that the constituents of the Hurriyat Conference were "selling" MBBS seats in Pakistan to Kashmiri students and using the money collected, at least partly, to support and fund terrorism.
During the probe, it had surfaced that individual Hurriyat leaders had their quota of seats which were sold to people desiring to obtain MBBS and other professional degrees in one way or the other, the officials said.
The officials said evidence showed that the money was "put into channels that ended up supporting programmes and projects pertaining to terrorism and separatism, like payment for organising stone pelting."
Citing an investigation, the officials said that the average cost of an MBBS seat in Pakistan was anything between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh. In some cases, the fee was brought down on the intervention of Hurriyat leaders. Depending upon the political heft of the Hurriyat leader who intervened, concessions were extended to aspiring students, the officials said.
(With inputs from PTI)
Ban under UAPA likely to be imposed on both factions of Hurriyat Conference, say officials
A ban under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act may be imposed on both factions of the Hurriyat Conference in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said on Sunday.
