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Tariq Bhat
Tariq Bhat

KASHMIR

Separatist Shabir Shah arrested for funding terror

PTI8_25_2015_000170A Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah | File

Arrest over a decade-old money laundering case

Senior separatist and leader of Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Ahmed Shah was arrested from his residence in Srinagar late last night.

Shah, who is a member of Ali Shah Geelani-led Hurriyat Conference, was under house detention since many months.  According to sources, Shah has been arrested in connection with a money laundering case for which a notice was sent to him by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) some time back.

A police team last night arrested him and took him to Humhama, Budgam in central Kashmir.

Shah has served several prison terms due to which Amnesty International declared him a prisoner of conscience. Shah's arrest is seen as a widening of the crackdown on pro-freedom leaders in Kashmir by the Centre and the PDP-led government in the state to control the situation. He is the most senior separatist who has been arrested by the government led by Mehbooba Mufti.

Sources said the ED wants to inquire about all the assets of Shah. Shah is said to own a few properties including a tourist resort.

The agency had issued several summons to Shah over the last few years in pursuance of the August 2005 case, wherein the Delhi Police's Special Cell had arrested Mohammed Aslam Wani (35), an alleged hawala dealer, who had claimed that he passed on Rs 2.25 crore to Shah.

Shah in the past had said that the ED case against him was "politically motivated".

The ED had registered a criminal case under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) against Shah and Wani.

In 2001, Shah had expressed willingness to talk to the Centre's pointman K.C. Pant and asked the government to engage with Pakistan also. But there was no headway in the talks as the Centre refused to talk with Pakistan on Kashmir.

Shah maintained a low profile during the last year's uprising and desisted from making any statements. Observers believe he was unhappy about the influence of Geelani's kin in Hurriyat Conference.

Shah had resigned from the post of general secretary from Hurriyat Conference over some issues in March. In 2015, he was made the general secretary of Hurriyat Conference and Nayeem Khan of National Front and Masarat Alam of Muslim League were made his deputies. Notably, Khan is among the seven separatists arrested by the NIA in connection with receiving money for fueling unrest in Kashmir through hawala and militant organisations. Alam was arrested in 2015 on orders of Chief Minister Mufti Muhammad Sayyed, barely weeks after he was released from jail after serving five years of imprisonment. 

(With inputs from PTI)

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