Pakistan Terror Funding Case: Nayeem Khan, Bitta Karate, Five Other Separatists Arrested By NIA

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has arrested seven Kashmiri separatist leaders in connection with the terror funding case. The separatist leaders arrested by the NIA include Nayeem Khan , Bitta Karate, Altaf Funtus, Ayaz Akbar, T Saifullah, Meraz Kalwal and Saheed Ul Islam.

Six of them were arrested from Srinagar while Bitta Karate was arrested from New Delhi. The arrested separatist leaders from Srinagar will be brought to the national capital today for further proceedings.

The NIA visited Srinagar earlier in May to probe the alleged funding by Pakistan for illegal activities in Kashmir, and questioned the separatist leaders regarding their involvement in raising, collecting and transferring funds through hawala and other channels for terror funding in Kashmir.

The sleuths from the agency have questioned separatist leaders Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate and Gazi Javed Baba in the case. It is probing all aspects of funding of separatist leaders and use of these funds in fuelling the unrest in Kashmir Valley.

The development came after the Hurriyat Conference suspended Nayeem Khan from the organisation after he allegedly confessed to receiving money from Pakistan and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) for Kashmir unrest. Khan was allegedly heard admitting in a TV sting operation that he had received money from Pakistan to fuel unrest in the Valley. He, however, claimed that the sting operation was fake and doctored.

After the video surfaced, the NIA registered a preliminary probe against Khan, Tehreek-e-Hurriyat leader Gazi Javed Baba and Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (R) chairman Farooq Ahmed Dar. (ANI)