Jammu and Kashmir Deputy Chief Minister Nirmal Singh on Monday praised the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for arresting seven Hurriyat leaders on money laundering charges for fuelling terror-related unrest in the Kashmir Valley.
He said the arrest exposes the reality of such separatists "who use people to meet their selfish ends."
"I would like to congratulate the NIA for taking this decisive step, because these are the people who create all this trouble. The Government of Jammu and Kashmir and the Centre will not tolerate such anti-national elements. For decades, they have been creating and spreading chaos and disorder with the help of Pakistan," Singh told ANI.
The Deputy Chief Minister also criticized Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq for describing such arrests as 'simplistic drama'.
A short while back, six of the seven Hurriyat leaders were airlifted from Srinagar to Delhi by the NIA.
The accused have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
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The seven separatists include Naeem Khan , Bitta Karate, Altaf Funtus, Ayaz Akbar, T. Saifullah , Meraz Kalwal and Saheed Ul Islam.
Six of them were arrested from Srinagar while Bitta Karate was arrested from New Delhi.
All of seven them will be produced before the Patiala House Court tomorrow.
NIA Inspector General Alok Mittal told ANI, "We had registered a terror-funding case related to Jammu and Kashmir on May 30 this year under various sections of the IPC and the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. Thereafter, we conducted wide ranging searches in several cities and collected incriminating documentary and electronic evidence. We have also seized a large amount of cash. Based on the evidence we have collected and subsequent examinations of the persons today, we have arrested seven persons --six from Srinagar and one from Delhi."
He further said that the evidences which have been collected so far clearly prove the financial trail and the direct link between terror activities and its (money laundered) funding.
The NIA visited Srinagar in May to probe the alleged funding by Pakistan for illegal activities in Kashmir, and questioned several separatist leaders on the issue of raising, collecting and transferring funds via the Hawala route and other channels to fund terror activities in Kashmir.
NIA sleuths specifically questioned separatist leaders Farooq Ahmed Dar alias Bitta Karate and Gazi Javed Baba at that time.
The NIA is said to be probing all aspects of funding to separatist leaders and how they reportedly used these funds to fuel unrest in the Kashmir Valley.