Separatists now stand exposed before Kashmiri youth: BJP lauds NIA crackdown

Lauding the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) crackdown on Separatists that led to arrest of their seven leaders on money laundering charges to fund terror in the Kashmir Valley, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said that the Hurriyat stands exposed not only in front of the world, but also in front of the Kashmiri youth, whom they had been long misleading.

BJP MP Satyapal Singh hailed the development, saying that it has been proved now that the Separatists were being funded from across the border.

"The NIA has got clinching evidence against them and that is why seven people have been arrested. The Pakistani role has been exposed in front of the world. Not only have they been exposed, but also the Hurriyat leaders. The Separatist leaders have not been exposed in front of the world, but also in front of the Kashmiri youth, whom they were misleading," Singh told ANI.

The arrested Hurriyat leaders were brought to the headquarters of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) in Delhi yesterday.

All the seven of them will be produced before the Patiala House Court tomorrow.

The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

The seven separatists include Naeem 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 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.

NIA sleuths specifically questioned separatist leaders Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate and Gazi Javed Baba at that time.

The NIA is said to be probing all aspects of funding to separatist leaders and how they reportedly used these funds to fuel unrest in the Kashmir Valley.