Separatists draw flak within Valley for calling shutdown on personal matters

TERROR FUNDING

7 Hurriyat leaders remanded to 10-day NIA custody
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JAMMU/SRINAGAR: The separatists in Kashmir faced severe criticism within the Valley where people defied a shutdown call given against arrest of seven Hurriyat leaders by the National Investigation Agency.
Even the prominent separatist ideologues and sworn anti-India faces took to social media to criticise both factions of Hurriyat Conference for calling a shutdown in what they described as purely personal matters. The general public opinion suggested that the Hurriyat leaders should face probe in the shady financial deals rather than forcing the society to go for protests and shutdown
Meanwhile, a day after seven separatists were arrested and charged with using money from Pakistan to fund terrorism, the National Investigation Agency on Tuesday claimed they have "incriminating evidence" against all the seven accused. They were sent to 10 days NIA custody by a Delhi court.
The NIA claimed that the Hurriyat leaders used hawala money to create unrest in the Valley. The money, funneled through Pakistan, was used to fund attacks on schools and stone pelting, the agency alleged.
The strike called by separatists in Kashmir against the arrest of seven persons by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) evoked very little to no response as the day passed off peacefully. "People have by and large ignored the strike call given by some separatist outfits. It reflects their desire to lead peaceful and normal lives," Director General of Police (DGP) S P Vaid said.
Syed Ali Geelani, Mirwaiz Umar Farooq and Mohammad Yasin Malik had called for a shutdown in Kashmir today to protest against the arrests carried out by the NIA in connection with its probe into hawala funding for subversive activities in the valley.
The authorities had to impose restrictions in parts of the city here as a precautionary measure.
"We are getting excellent cooperation from the people in our efforts to restore peace and normalcy in the valley.
Today's events are one such example," Vaid said.
He said that despite the strike call, life went on as usual in most parts of the valley. However, shops and business establishments were shut in a few areas. Public transport was available in many areas of the city with even traffic jams reported from some parts.
Similar reports were received from other district headquarters of the valley with inter-district transport plying on some routes.
Government offices and banks functioned normally but private educational institutions were shut due to the strike.
On Monday, the NIA arrested seven Kashmiri Separatists including the son-in-law of Hurriyat hardliner Syed Ali Shah Geelani and a close aide of Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Geelani's son-in-law Altaf Ahmad Shah alias Funtoosh, Ayaz Akbar Khandey, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal, Peer Saifullah, Aftab Hilali Shah alias Shahid-ul-Islam, Nayeem Khan and Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate are the seven arrested.
Sources said the NIA decided to arrest the seven since they were not cooperating with the investigation and the agency had found evidence against them in connection with the case. "We have ascertained financial trails which are leading to some of these accused. It has also been ascertained that some of the funding has been coming from Pakistan," an NIA officer said.