Srinagar, July 02 (KNO) : In a bid to wide its crackdown on the “militancy funding channels” in Jammu and Kashmir, the newly constituted Multi-Disciplinary Terror Monitoring Group (MDTMG) by the Union Home Ministry in mid-June this year, has starts its job in Kashmir to evolve a joint strategy to block all the ways of possible financing to militancy and separatism related activities in the State, officials, privy to the development revealed to KNO.
With this, the chances of release of almost a dozen Hurriyat leaders that includes Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah and many others have become “bleak”, as they have already been booked for their alleged involvement in the “militancy funding and other illegal financing issues.”
According to the KNO’s Delhi-correspondent, MDTMG was formed by the MHA on June 16 with a sole aim to roll out a united effort to crack the whip on the sources of “militancy funding in the State of Jammu and Kashmir.”
The new body was made up of eight members in total, with Additional DGP CID of J&K Police as the chairman. IGP of J&K Police will also be part of the entity. Also, it will have officials representing the Intelligence Bureau (IB), Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), National Investigation Agency (NIA) and the Central Board of Direct Taxes (CBDT) among its members.
The newly-constituted TMG will be responsible for taking coordinated measures to resolve all cases registered in matters of terrorism, including terror financing. The group will also be responsible for identifying major leaders of organizations supporting terror activities, as well as look for terror sympathizers.
The decision to set up the TMG had comes in the wake of a massive government crackdown on groups in the Kashmir Valley, such as the JKLF and the Jamaat-e-Islami Kashmir, believed to be involved in supporting and financing separatism and militancy.
Pertinently, the MDTMG in its meeting has decided to widen its ambit and start finding some missing links to ensure all sources of funding is blocked to the militants and separatists. “A joint strategy is already in place and has been fine tuned. The MDTMG has decided to meet once in every week and four times in a month and submit the progress report to the MHA on weekly basis,” a top official, who is part of the Group told KNO.
A senior BJP leader said that the Centre was keen to ensure peace and progress in Kashmir and for that “all sources of illegal finances need to be stopped.” “Much progress has been achieved on this front. Ever since the separatist leaders were arrested and lodged in Jails, situation on ground has improved a lot. There are no protests after Friday prayers, and over all law and order situation has improved a lot,” he told KNO over phone from New Delhi.
Asked whether there were any chances of release of separatist leaders booked for their involvement in “militancy funding and illegal finances” that include JKLF chief Muhammad Yasin Malik, Shabir Ahmed Shah, Altaf Ahmed Fantosh, Ayaz Akbar, Advocate Shahidul Islam, Farooq Ahmed Dar, businessman Zahoor Watali, women separatist leaders Asiya Andrabi and her close aides, Fehmeeda Sofi and Nahida Nasreen, the BJP leader said: “Law will take its own course.
Had they not been involved in one or the other way, why are they languishing in prison? “India is a democratic country and here, none is punished without proof.” In its one of the recent statements, NIA had stated that the JKLF chief Yasin Malik and Dukhtaran-e-Milat chairperson Asiya Andrabi were confronted with the evidence of their involvement in funding and using the illegal finances for running separatism activities and prolonging economic breakdown in Kashmir through long unrests.”
Interestingly, after advocating dialogue with New Delhi and showing its readiness, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, who heads the Hurriyat Conference (M) on the last Friday had called for the unconditional release of all the political prisoners including the separatist leaders lodged in Tihar jail for their alleged involvement in “militancy funding.”(KNO)