The National Investigation Agency on Tuesday, 26 February, carried out raids on several separatists, including Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chairman Yasin Malik and All Parties Hurriyat Conference Chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, in connection with a terror funding case.
The counter-terrorism agency men, along with the state police and others, cordoned off Malik's residence around 7:30 am, IANS reported, citing a JKLF source.
"This raid was carried out while the JKLF chief was still lodged in Kothibagh police station," the source added.
The NIA sleuths accompanied by local police and CRPF personnel carried out searches at nearly nine places across the valley, which included the house of Nayeem Geelani, son of pro-Pakistan separatist Syed Ali Shah Geelani, PTI reported, citing officials.
Catch all the updates on the IAF air strikes across LoC here.
Besides these, the houses of JKLF leader Yaseen Malik, Shabir Shah, Ashraf Sehrai and Zaffar Bhat were also raided.
The case purportedly relates to funds allegedly received by the separatist from Pakistan through hawala channels.
The raids come on a day when 12 Mirage 2000 Indian fighter jets reportedly struck terror camps in Pakistan’s Balakot, and PoK’s Chakothi and Muzaffarabad areas across the LoC in the wee hours of Tuesday, and dropped 1,000 kg bombs destroying the camps.
However, Pakistan has reportedly denied any damage caused to life or property.
On Saturday, the government had launched a massive crackdown on separatists and detained over 150 people, mainly from the Jamaat-e-Islami Jammu and Kashmir, including its chief Abdul Hamid Fayaz, ahead of a hearing in the Supreme Court on Article 35-A of the Constitution.
As many as 100 additional companies of the paramilitary (nearly 10,000 personnel) had also been sent to Kashmir Valley in the apprehension of a law and order situation.
The fresh tensions come after the 14 February terror attack in Pulwama in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed by a suicide bomber.
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