The National Investigation Agency on Monday arrested seven Kashmiri separatists, including Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani’s son-in-law Altaf Shah, for allegedly funding terror groups in Jammu and Kashmir, reported Hindustan Times. The others who have been arrested are Ayaz Akbar, Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Naeem Khan, Peer Saifullah, Shahid-ul-Islam and Bitta Karatay. The six of them were arrested from Srinagar.
In June, the agency had carried out raids across several locations in Jammu and Kashmir, Delhi and Haryana in connection with militancy funding allegedly received from Pakistan. The officials had said seized incriminating documents and foreign currency. On May 21, Geelani had suspended Naeem Khan-led National Front from the separatists’ group days over allegations of foreign funding.
Later in the day, separatist leaders termed the arrests illegal, and called for a shutdown on Tuesday, reported the Greater Kashmir. “JRL [Joint Resistance Leadership] has given a call for complete strike tomorrow [Tuesday] to protest and condemn the revengeful, arbitrary and illegal arrests of Hurriyat leaders by NIA in Srinagar,” a spokesperson told the daily. The joint resistance leadership includes Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik.
Kashmir has seen nearly a year of violence after the killing of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Burhan Wani by Indian security forces on July 8, 2016.
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