Shabir Shah was in touch with Hafiz Saeed: ED

The Enforcement Directorate on Saturday claimed that arrested Kashmiri separatist leader Shabir Shah was in touch with Pakistan-based Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.

In its chargesheet, the financial probe agency claimed that "Shah admits that he talks to Hafiz Saeed, global terrorist, based in Pakistan on phone on the issue of Kashmir".

"Recently he had talked with Hafiz Saeed in January 2017," the agency said.

The revelations were made in the chargesheet that the agency filed against alleged hawala dealer Mohammad Aslam Wani and Shah in connection with an ongoing money laundering case.

The chargesheet also revealed that Mohammad Shafi Shayar, a Kashmiri, was also part of their movement, before he went to Pakistan.

"Shah was in touch with with Shayar through phone. On analysis of the call detail report (CDR), it was found that 20 calls were made received from Shayar from his Pakistan number 923005161648 from January 22, 2017 to July 26, 2017 on the mobile of Shabir Shah," the chargesheet alleged.

According to the ED, Shah had met Shayar in central jail, Jammu during the years 1993-94.

After being released from jail, Shayar left for Pakistan with his family and settled in Rawalpindi. He belonged to an organisation named People's League in Anantnag.

The chargesheet further alleged that "Shah claimed that these calls were made from Pakistan to discuss the Kashmir issue".

"Shah admitted that Shayar used to talk to Shah and not to his family for the last 18 to 20 years. Shayar also calls Shah through Zamir Ahmed Sheikh, the photographer, driver and close aide of Shah on his mobile number 9469100898," the ED claimed.

The ED also said that Shah's Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party website's IP address belongs to Peshawar in Pakistan and is hosted on host201212.comhosting.com and the organisation of the domain is Commission on Science and Technology at Peshawar, Pakistan North West Province.

Shah was arrested by the ED on July 25 in a money laundering case of 2005. The ED arrested Aslam Wani on August 6. Wani had allegedly confessed that he had passed on Rs 2.25 crore in hawala money to Shah.

--IANS

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