J&K Police seeks prosecution sanction against Hurriyat leader & 8 others under UAPA

In a key development, Jammu & Kashmir Police asked the Home Department for granting prosecution sanction against 9 persons under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. This includes a Hurriyat leader- Mohammad Akbar Bhat of the Salvation Front and an advocate. This case pertains to MBBS seats in Pakistan being sold to aspirants from Kashmir which otherwise costs up to Rs.12 lakh each. As per sources, this is a plot of ISI to incentivize the family members of terrorists killed by security forces in J&K. 

Sources revealed that this money was put into channels that ended up in supporting programmes and projects pertaining to terrorism and separatism like payment for organising stone-pelting. The nexus between Pakistan, the Hurriyat and students was red-flagged by the NIA in 2017 during the investigation of a terror funding module. Earlier, 4 persons were arrested by the J&K Police in connection with the case. Earlier, sources had hinted that both factions of the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) might be banned under Section 3(1) of the UAPA for conniving with terror outfits and waging war with India as part of a criminal conspiracy.

Crackdown on the Hurriyat

Founded on July 31, 1993, the conglomerate of 26 outfits including the Jamaat-e-Islami, Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front and Dukhtaran-e-Millat has spearheaded the separatist movement in J&K for over two decades. Perceived as an extension of the alliance which unsuccessfully contested in the 1987 Assembly polls, its clout has reduced in the last few years. The separatist conglomerate split into two factions in 2005- the moderate group led by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and the hardline faction headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani.

So far, several individuals associated with separatism including those from the Hurriyat have been arrested in a terror funding case. These include Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmed Shah, his close aide Ayaz Akbar, businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali; Geelani’s close aide Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmed Dar, JKLF chief Yasin Malik and DeM head Asiya Andrabi. In February 2019, the Ministry of Home Affairs designated Jamaat-e-Islami, Kashmir as an "unlawful association" and banned it for 5 years under the UAPA.

The central agency alleged that the members of JeI have been collecting funds in the name of charity and welfare activities but using them to further violent and secessionist activities. It added that these funds are being channelised to terror outfits and accused JeI of recruiting youth in the Union Territory to participate in secessionist activities. After Geelani's death, the APHC elected Masarat Alam and Shabir Shah as its chairman and vice-chairman respectively.