J&K Terror Funding Case: Delhi Court Frames UAPA Charges Against Hafiz Saeed, Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmad Shah & Others

A Delhi Court has framed charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Kashmiri separatist leaders Yasin Malik, Shabbir Ahmad Shah, Hizbul Mujahideen Chief Salahuddin and other persons under Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) in connection with Jammu & Kashmir terror funding case.

Special NIA Judge Praveen Singh has also framed charges against Former MLA Rashid Engineer, Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Shahid-ul-Islam, Altaf Ahmad Shah @ Fantoosh, Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar @ Bitta Karate and others under UAPA.

However, the Court has discharged three namely Kamran Yusuf, Javed Ahmad Bhatt and SyedahAasiya Firdous Andrabi.

According to the chargesheet, various terrorist organizations such as Lashkar-e-Toiba(LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahiddin (HM), Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Jaish-e- Mohd. (JeM), with the support of ISI had perpetrated violence in the Kashmir valley by attacking civilians and security forces.

It was alleged that funds were collected domestically and abroad through various illegal channels including hawala for funding separatist and terrorist activities in J&K and as such the accused had entered into a larger conspiracy for causing disruption in the valley by way of pelting stones on security forces, systematically burning of schools, damage to public property and waging war against India.

It was further alleged that in the year 1993, All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC) was formed to give political front to the secessionist activities.

Accordingly, the Ministry of Home Affairs vide order dated May 30, 2017 directed the NIA to register a case. The case was thus registered for offences under sec. 120B, 121, 121A of IPC and sec. 13, 16, 17, 18, 20, 38, 39 and 40 of UAPA.

Considering the material on record, the Court was of the view that the statements of witnesses and documentary evidence had connected the accused persons with each other and to a common object of secession, their close association to terrorist or terrorist organizations "under the guiding hand and funding of Pakistani establishment."

"The above discussed evidence thus prima facie reflects an agreement between the accused, except accused 11, 12 and 17 to achieve an object common to all and the said object was secession of J&K from the Union of India. It also details the agreement about the means to be employed for achieving that object and the means employed such as violent protests, stone pelting, damaging and burning of property are per se illegal," the Judge said.

The Court added that there was an "orchestra conspiracy" committed by the accused persons in the matter as in such conspiracy, each player has its own instrument to play but sharing the same stage, every player or member of the orchestra knows the other player and the role the other person has to play.

"It is the conductor of the orchestra holding the baton in his hand who with the raising of his baton directs which player has to play when and what part. In this conspiracy, the baton was held by conductor sitting across the border in the form of Pakistani agencies such as ISI etc. and each of the conspirators knowing every other conspirator was playing his own role as per the directions of the conductor in order to create a symphony of bloodshed, violence, mayhem and destruction with the ultimate object of secession of J&K from UOI. Thus, at this stage, the argument that each of these conspirators were acting independently towards the object of secession of J&K cannot be accepted," the Judge added.

Case Title: NIA v. Hafiz Muhammad Saeed & Ors.