Separatism Smashed: Police Strike Jamaat-e-Islami in Kashmir’s Kulgam

Mumbai: In a continued crackdown on banned organizations, Kulgam Police on Tuesday conducted multiple raids in connection with ongoing investigations related to Jamaat-e-Islami, an outlawed outfit.

The operations were carried out in the Sopat, Devsar and Zangalpora areas of Kulgam district in south Kashmir, where police teams searched the residences of members to gather evidence regarding the organization’s activities.

Official sources confirmed that the searches unfolded under a heavy security blanket, “We are committed to rooting out unlawful networks and taking stringent action against those involved,” a senior police official said on condition of anonymity.

The raids mark the latest development in a broader campaign spearheaded by the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) to neutralize separatist elements in the Union Territory.

Jamaat-e-Islami was banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in February 2019, following intelligence reports linking it to terror funding and extremist ideology.

The MHA’s crackdown intensified after the ban, with the National Investigation Agency (NIA) leading a series of raids across J&K, seizing properties, freezing bank accounts, and sealing offices tied to the group.

On February 27, 2024, the MHA extended the ban on JeI for another five years, reaffirming its status as an “unlawful association”.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah , announcing the extension, emphasized the government’s zero-tolerance policy toward terrorism and separatism.

“The organization continues activities threatening the security, integrity, and sovereignty of the nation,” Shah said in a statement, echoing the MHA’s findings that JeI persists in radicalizing youth and channeling funds to proscribed terror outfits that include home grown terror outfit Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and Pakistan sponsored terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Hours before today’s raids in Kulgam, Shah took to ‘X’ to hail a major ideological pivot: two factions of the Hurriyat Conference, the Jammu & Kashmir People’s Movement and the Democratic Political Movement publicly disavowed separatism.

“Separatism is history in Kashmir. The Modi government’s unifying policies have tossed it out of J&K,” Shah posted, framing the development as a triumph of Prime Minister Narendra Modi ’s vision for a peaceful, integrated India.

Pertinently, on Monday Advocate Mohammad Shafi Reshi, a Srinagar based lawyer from Gulberg Colony in Baghat, issued a public statement severing all ties with the Jammu & Kashmir Democratic Political Movement (DPM) and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (G).

Reshi, denounced the Hurriyat’s ideology as a failure that neglected the genuine aspirations of J&K’s people.

“I pledge allegiance to the Indian Constitution and will pursue my legal profession free of separatist affiliations,” he declared, threatening legal action against anyone linking his name to such groups.

The MHA’s sustained offensive against JeI has seen security agencies zero in on its financial and operational networks.

“In recent months, the SIA and NIA have pinpointed and confiscated assets worth crores, including Rs 90 crore in JeI-linked properties in 2022 alone, plus over 200 other holdings across J&K. The group has been funneling money through so-called charitable collections like Zakat and Bait-ul-Mal to bankroll violent separatist schemes,” said a senior police official.

Law enforcement officials further say the intensified crackdown aims to choke any residual influence JeI might wield and thwart efforts to resurrect separatist narratives.

“We’re keeping a close watch on individuals suspected of maintaining ties with banned groups,” a security official said, hinting at more operations in the pipeline.