Mirwaiz Umar appears before NIA in terror funding case

Moderate separatist leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq Monday appeared before the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in connection with a case related to terror funding, officials said.

Mirwaiz was provided security upon his arrival at Delhi airport as was assured by the NIA after he raised the issue for appearing at the agency's headquarter in the national capital.

Hurriyat Conference leaders Abdul Gani Bhat, Bilal Lone and Maulana Abbas Ansari accompanied him.

In 2004, the same group of leaders had met then prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and then home minister L K Advani for finding a lasting solution to the Kashmir issue.

The NIA probe seeks to identify the chain of players behind the financing of terror activities, pelting of stones on security forces, burning down of schools and damaging of government establishments.

The case names Hafeez Saeed, Pakistan-based chief of Jamaat-ud-Dawah (JuD), the front for banned Lashker-e-Taiba, as an accused, besides organisations such as the Hurriyat Conference factions led by Syed Ali Shah Geelani and Mirwaiz, Hizbul Mujahideen and Dukhtaran-e-Millat.