We exposed Hurriyat and their sources of funding: Arun Jaitley

Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Wednesday said that an intelligence system has been formed over the last three years, which has exposed the Hurriyat leaders and the matrix of their terror funding.

In an exclusive interview to ANI, Jaitley said, "In last three years an intelligence network has been formed following which, for the first time, the Hurriyat was exposed before the Kashmiri people. Their funding sources were exposed. Their funding sources dried up which led to decrease in the incidents of stone pelting and protest."

He further said that the police and security agencies are more vigilant in Jammu and Kashmir, causing the terrorists to rush off their feet.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) widened their crackdown on separatists earlier this year and arrested several of their leaders for funding and fuelling terror in the Valley, with its wires trailing back to Pakistan.

In July, at least seven separatist leaders, six from Srinagar and one from New Delhi, were arrested by the NIA.

The NIA visited Srinagar in May to probe the 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 carry out and abate violence in Kashmir.