Delhi High Court asks NIA to respond to Kashmiri bizman Zahoor Watali's plea

The Delhi High Court sought the NIAs response on Tuesday on a plea moved by Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali challenging the charges framed against him in a terrorfinancing caseA bench of Justices Siddharth Mridul and Talwant Singh issued a notice to the National Investigation Agency NIA and listed the plea for further hearing on May 3A trial court had in May last year framed charges against Watali and others in a case related to alleged terrorism and secessionist activities that disturbed Jammu and Kashmir in 2017Watali was arrested by the NIA in 2017 under various sections of the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act UAPAThe trial court had ordered framing of charges against LashkareTaiba LeT founder Hafiz Saeed Hizbul Mujahideen HM chief Syed Salahuddin and Kashmiri separatist leaders including Yasin Malik Shabbir Shah and Masarat Alam under various sections of the UAPA and the Indian Penal Code IPC including for criminal conspiracy waging war against the country unlawful activities and terrorismIt had also charged Mohammad Yusuf Shah Aftab Ahmad Shah Altaf Ahmad Shah Nayeem Khan Farooq Ahmad Dar Mohammad Akbar Khanday Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal Bashir Ahmad Bhat Watali Shabir Ahmad Shah Masarat Alam Abdul Rashid Sheikh and Naval Kishore Kapoor in the caseJammu Kashmir Liberation Front JKLF chief Mohammad Yasin Malik had pleaded guilty to the charges including those under the UAPA He was convicted and sentenced to life imprisonmentAccording to the NIA various terrorist organisations such as the LeT HM JKLF JaisheMuhammed JeM with the support of Pakistans ISI perpetrated violence in the valley by attacking civilians and security forcesAlso readMaharashtra Seven booked for cheating jobseekers of Rs 685 lakh in ThaneIt was further alleged that in 1993 the All Parties Hurriyat Conference APHC was formed to give a political front to secessionist activitiesThe NIA chargesheet submitted to the trial court said the Centre received credible information that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed the chief or amir of JamaatudDawah and the secessionist and separatist leaders including members of the Hurriyat Conference were acting in connivance with active terrorists of proscribed organisations such as the HM and the LeT for raising receiving and collecting funds domestically and abroad through various illegal channels including hawalaThe premier investigating agency also alleged that this was done for funding separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and as such they had entered into a larger conspiracy for causing disruption in the valley by way of pelting stones on security forces systematically burning schools damaging public property and waging war against IndiaThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever