Sanjeev Pargal
JAMMU, May 22: As Central Government has started acting tough on hawala funding to the separatists including Hurriyat Conference leaders with National Investigating Agency (NIA) team camping in Srinagar for the last three days, Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh today held high-level review of terror funding from Pakistan through hawala operations. He also reviewed security situation in the Kashmir valley, which has shown signs of slight improvement during the past fortnight.
Sources told the Excelsior that National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval, Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi, who has only few days back visited the Valley for two days, Special Secretary (Internal Security) and other senior officers of the Home Ministry were present at the hour-long meeting at the Home Minister’s office.
A clear direction has gone that no one-whosoever high up he may be or the high position he might be holding — will be spared if his name figured in the multi-crore hawala operations scam, unearthed recently, which has created ripples in separatists’ circles in the Valley with hardliner Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani expelling Nayeem Khan led front from the Hurriyat.
According to sources, Rajnath Singh reviewed entire spectrum of hawala operations, which have been going on for years together and were used by Pakistan to fund separatists including the Hurriyat Conference leaders and some Over Ground Workers to fuel unrest and disturbances in the Kashmir valley.
“The steps required to trace hawala connections and terror funding by Pakistan in Kashmir and related measures figured in the meeting and a strategy was devised to ensure that not even a single beneficiary of funding remained untraced,” sources said, adding the NIA has already been tasked to go into depth of the case and book all those receiving hawala funds to generate unrest in the Valley.
The meeting was reportedly briefed that hawala operations might run into hundreds of crores though exact figure at this stage would be speculation. It was observed that not only the separatists but many other persons including the OGWs had been the beneficiaries of hawala money routed in the Kashmir valley through various channels.
Sources said the meeting was reportedly briefed that the separatists and others have received funds from various hawala channels including Pakistan-backed dreaded militant outfit like Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) with a view to feed the people for triggering unrest in the Valley in the form of protests and arson, sources said.
According to sources, certain lobbyists, Non-Government Organizations (NGOs), social organizations and related groups and individuals had been used to pay the funds to the separatist leaders at the behest of Pakistan-based militant outfit including the LeT, which has been in the forefront for fomenting trouble in Kashmir with subversive activities.
Sources said there had been reports with the Centre Government as well as the investigating agencies that hawala funds had been used for causing unrest in Kashmir, burning Government infrastructure including educational institutions, pelting stones and feeding some other kind of “undesirable activities” within the Kashmir valley.
There were reports that Pakistan was used for sending money to hawala operators, who were functioning from Chandni Chowk and Ballimaran areas of Old Delhi. From these two localities, the hawala money was taken to the Kashmir valley by certain persons working for spreading unrest in the Kashmir valley, sources pointed out.
Meanwhile, according to sources, Rajnath Singh also reviewed internal security situation in Kashmir with top officials of the Home Ministry and there was satisfaction that semblance of normalcy has been witnessed in parts of the Valley during last fortnight with no major protests reported. However, small protests especially by the students in few areas have been reported but they too were tackled peacefully.
The situation along borders and militancy front in the hinterland also came up for discussion, sources pointed out.
Worthwhile to mention here that Union Home Secretary Rajiv Mehrishi had visited Srinagar for two days recently and had high-level security review of the situation including unrest, militancy and border situation with top brass of civil and police administration.
As this was the first high-level security review of Kashmir situation by the Union Home Minister after return of Mehrishi from Srinagar, the summer capital of the State, he briefed the Minister on prevailing situation in the Valley.
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