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YASIN MALIK CONVICTED IN TERROR FUNDING CASE

YB WEB DESK. Dated: 5/20/2022 3:30:09 PM

New Delhi, May 19 Yasin Malik, a separatist leader from Jammu and Kashmir, on Thursday was convicted by National Investigation Agency (NIA) court. He had pleaded guilty in the terror funding case on the last date of the hearing. The NIA has been asked to give an affidavit on the socioeconomic status of convict Yasin Malik after taking the help of local authorities. Malik is also directed to file an affidavit disclosing all sources of his income and assets (movable and immovable). Special NIA Judge Praveen Singh on Thursday posted the matter for arguments on the quantum of sentence for May 25. Malik had told the court that he was not contesting the charges levelled against him that including Section 16 (terrorist act), 17 (raising funds for terrorist act), 18 (conspiracy to commit terrorist act) and 20 (being member of terrorist gang or organisation) of the UAPA and sections 120-B (criminal conspiracy) and 124-A (sedition) of the IPC. Recently, the court had ordered the framing of charges against several separatist leaders including Yasin Malik under UAPA and IPC. Meanwhile, the Court formally framed the charges against other Kashmiri separatist leaders who are accused in the case. Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, Md Yusuf Shah, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Nayeem Khan, Md Akbar Khanday, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Bashir Ahmad Bhat, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shabir Ahmad Shah, Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor on Tuesday formally signed the court order copy and said they are ready to face trial in the case. NIA Judge, while passing the order said, “The analysis reflects that the statements of witnesses and documentary evidence have connected almost all the accused with each other and to a common object of secession, to the commonality of means they were to use, their close association to terrorist/ terrorist organizations under the guiding hand and funding of Pakistani establishment.” On March 16, the NIA Court had ordered the framing of charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin, Kashmiri separatist leaders including Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam and others under various sections of UAPA in a case pertaining to the terrorist and secessionist activities that disturbed the State of Jammu and Kashmir. The court had also ordered the framing of charges against Kashmiri politician and former MLA Rashid Engineer, Businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Bitta Karate, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Avatar Ahmad Shah, Naeem Khan, Bashir Ahmed Bhat, alias Peer Saifullah and several others under various sections of IPC and UAPA including criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country, unlawful activities, etc. According to the NIA various terrorist organizations such as Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) etc., with the support of ISI of Pakistan, perpetrated violence in the valley by attacking civilians and security forces. It was further alleged that in the year 1993, the All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was formed to give a political front to secessionist activities. The NIA charge sheet submitted that the Central GoveIt also submitted that the investigation has revealed that the secessionists were mobilizing funds from all possible sources to fuel unrest and support the ongoing secessionist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. The secessionists were getting funds from Pakistan, funds from Pakistan based terrorist organizations and from local donations.