NIA arrests two notorious stone pelters from J&K

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested two notorious stone pelters from Jammu and Kashmir as a part of ongoing crackdown against terror funding in the state.

According to the NIA sources, the arrested stone pelters are Javed Ahmad Bhat from Kulgam and Kamran Yusuf from Pulwama.

Stone pelting in Kashmir Valley and foreign funding for spreading terror in the Valley are interlinked, say NIA sources.

The NIA visited Srinagar in May to probe the alleged funding by Pakistan for illegal activities in Kashmir, and questioned several separatist leaders on the issue of raising, collecting and transferring funds via the Hawala route and other channels to fund terror activities in Kashmir.

It is the first time since the rise of militancy in the early 1990s that a central probe agency conducted raids in connection with the funding of terrorist and separatist groups.

In July, the NIA arrested seven separatist leaders - Altaf Shah, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah, Mehraj Kalwal, Shahid-ul-Islam, Naeem Khan and Bitta Karate - over money laundering charges to fund terror in the Kashmir Valley.

On August 17, the NIA arrested Zahoor Ahmed Watali, a prominent businessman of Kashmir.

The NIA on Tuesday summoned Kashmir Bar Association President Mian Abdul Qayoom on September 6 at the Delhi Headquarters in connection with the terror-funding case.