Hurriyat groups may be banned under UAPA for funding terror
Tribune News Service
New Delhi, August 22
The government is actively considering banning both factions of the Hurriyat Conference under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) after a probe by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) revealed that outfits linked with the separatist conglomerate raised money to fund terror in Jammu and Kashmir.
Officials in the security establishment said the NIA probe into MBBS seats being allotted to Kashmiri students by institutions in Pakistan revealed that the money collected from aspirants by some outfits that are part of the Hurriyat Conference was diverted for terror activities in J&K — a sufficient ground for banning the Hurriyat factions under Section 3(1) of the UAPA. “If the Centre is of the opinion that any association is or has become an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful,” they pointed out.
About the separatist organisation
- Hurriyat Conference came into being in 1993 with 26 groups
- The conglomerate also included the People’s Conference and Awami Action Committee
- It broke into 2 factions in 2005 with the moderate group led by Mirwaiz and the hardline headed by Geelani
The officials said the probe indicated the “involvement” of secessionist and separatist leaders, including members of the Hurriyat Conference, who had been “acting in connivance” with militants of proscribed organisations Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, Dukhtaran-e-Millat and Lashkar-e-Taiba. They allegedly raised funds in India and abroad through illegal channels, including hawala, for funding terror activities. Citing the investigation, the officials said the average cost of an MBBS seat in Pakistan was between Rs 10 lakh and Rs 12 lakh. In some cases, the fee was brought down on the intervention of Hurriyat leaders.
