ED attaches assets worth Rs. 1.73 cr of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in terror financing case

Enforcement Directorate (ED) on Thursday attached assets worth Rs. 1.73 crores of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and his family members in connection with a terror-financing case.

"ED has attached assets worth Rs. 1.73 crores of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and his family members in the case of terror financing by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed (Founder of Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jamaat-Ud-Dawa) and others," the investigative agency said in a statement on Thursday.

"The attached assets consisting of immovable properties worth Rs. 1.48 crores in the name of family members of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali and balance available in the Bank Account of Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali in Jammu & Kashmir Bank Ltd, New Delhi worth Rs. 25 lakhs under the provisions of Prevention of Money Laundering Act 2002, (PMLA) in the ongoing investigations in the case against Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Mohd. Yusuf Shah alias Salahuddin (Head of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen) and others," it said.

ED initiated an investigation under PMLA based on charge-sheet filed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) against Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Mohd. Yusuf Shah alias Salahuddin, Aftab Ahmad Shah alias Shahid-Ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Fantoosh, Nayeem Ahmad Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Mohammad Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peet Saifullah, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Kamran Yusuf and Javed Ahmad Bhat.

The investigative agency said that accused Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali has been found to be involved in fundraising for Hurriyat Leaders.

"NIA investigation also discloses that the All Party Hurriyat Conference(APHC) and other secessionists instigate the general public, especially the youth, to observe strikes and issue directives to the masses to hold anti-India protests, demonstrations and processions through press releases, newspapers and social media," ED said.

The investigative agency in its statement accused the separatist of instigating the masses to resort to violence especially stone-pelting on the security forces at encounter sites and also after the dispersal of Friday prayers in the valley.

"This has been done willfully to create such circumstances which will arouse disaffection among the people of Jammu & Kashmir towards the Government of India," it said.

The statement also alleged that investigations under PMLA "revealed that the Hurriyat leaders have received funds from Pakistan through conduits and also from the Pakistan High Commission which is reflected in the document seized from the house of Ghulam Mohd. Bhatt during the search."

"Ghulam Mohd. Bhat worked as the cashier-cum-accountant with Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali. This document indicates that Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali was receiving money from Hafiz Saeed (Head of Jamaat-ud-Dawa), from ISI, from the Pakistan High Commission at New Delhi and also from a person based in Dubai. Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali was remitting the same to the Hurriyat leaders, separatists and stone-pelters of Jammu and Kashmir," said the investigative agency.

Further investigation is under progress.