NIA raids 6 NGOs, trusts in Kashmir, Delhi in connection with terror funding case

The National Investigation Agency on Wednesday conducted raids at 10 locations in the Valley in Srinagar and Bandipora. These included the Greater Kashmir newspaper office and the residence of a human rights activist and convener of Khurram Parvez, the civil society of the Jammu and Kashmir alliance, connected with a fresh terror funding probe by the agency. The NIA also raided a hideout in Bangalore.

The NIA complained that some NGOs and trusts collect money and use it to help separatist activities and terrorists. Important documents, electronic gadgets, and other objectionable materials have been recovered during the raid.

The residences of three of Parvez's associates were raided on Wednesday. In these raids, NIA found the whereabouts of Parveena Ahanger. She is President of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons, and the NGO Athrout and Chairperson of the Greater Kailash Trust. According to the NIA, non-governmental organizations received funds from unknown donors, which were being used to finance terrorist activities. A release from the agency said that several secret documents and electronic devices were seized.However, Peoples Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti has strongly opposed these raids. Earlier, the Jammu and Kashmir administration had closed one of the two properties allotted to the Kashmir Times. Executive editor Anuradha Bhasin was also evicted from her government residence in Jammu two weeks ago. In the year 2000 also the NIA took action against three NGOs. These NGOs were found to be involved in funding terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.

An NIA spokesperson said raids were conducted "on the residence and office of Khurram Parvez, coordinator of J&K Coalition of Civil Society (CCS); his associates Parvez Ahmad Bukhari, Parvez Ahmad Matta, and Swati Sheshadri; Parveena Ahanger, the chairperson of Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons (APDPK), and NGO Athrout and GK Trust, among others."GK Trust publishes the two most widely read newspapers, the Greater Kashmir and the Kashmir Uzma. The CCS and the APDPK are human rights organizations.

Bukhari is a journalist who has contributed to Time magazine and Al Jazeera and now works for the France-based news agency AFP. Khurram and many others had expressed outrage on Tuesday against the new land law that lifts the bar on those living outside Jammu and Kashmir from buying non-agriculture land in the Union Territory. The change, facilitated by the special status abrogation, was notified by the Centre on Tuesday.

"Abrogation of (the special provision in) Article 370, India had claimed that it was being done to ensure development, creation of jobs, women empowerment, and transparency. Kashmiris knew that the real reason for abrogation was land grabbing and demographic changes. It can't be any more bold and violent," Khurram had tweeted on Tuesday.