Tehreek-e-Hurriyat Declared 'Unlawful Association' Under UAPA, Was Involved in 'Anti-India Activities'

The Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Jammu and Kashmir (TeH) has been declared an ‘Unlawful Association’ under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Union Home Minister Amit Shah in a post on X wrote, “The ‘Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, J&K (TeH) has been declared an ‘Unlawful Association’ under UAPA.

The outfit is involved in forbidden activities to separate J&K from India and establish Islamic rule.”

“The group is found spreading anti-India propaganda and continuing terror activities to fuel secessionism in J&K. Under PM @narendramodi Ji’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, any individual or organization found involved in anti-India activities will be thwarted forthwith,” he added.

TeH, which was founded by hardcore separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in 2004, is a constituent of Hurriyat Conference which was headed by Geelani till he resigned from the amalgam.

Earlier, officials had said that both the factions of the secessionist conglomerate Hurriyat Conference are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of UAPA, under which, “if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful.”

WHAT IS THE HURRIYAT CONFERENCE?

The Hurriyat Conference came into existence in 1993 with 26 groups, including some pro-Pakistan and banned outfits such as the Jamaat-e-Islami, JKLF and the Dukhtaran-e-Millat. It also included the People’s Conference and the Awami Action Committee headed by Mirwaiz Umer Farooq.

The separatist conglomerate broke into two factions in 2005 with the moderate group being led by the Mirwaiz and the hardline headed by Syed Ali Shah Geelani. So far, the Centre has banned the Jamaat-e-Islami and the JKLF under the UAPA. The ban was imposed in 2019.

The officials said a probe into funding of terror groups suggested the alleged involvement of secessionist and separatist leaders, including the members of the Hurriyat Conference.

The cadres raised funds in the country and from abroad through various illegal channels, including hawala, for funding separatist and terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir, officials said.

In support of the case asking for a ban on the two factions of the Hurriyat Conference under UAPA, the officials had cited several cases related to terror funding, including the one being probed by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) in which several of the conglomerate’s cadres were arrested and jailed.

Among those in jail are Altaf Ahmed Shah, the son-in-law of Geelani; businessman Zahoor Ahmed Watali; Geelani’s close aide Ayaz Akbar, who is also the spokesperson of the hardline separatist organisation Tehreek-e-Hurriyat; Peer Saifullah; Shahid-ul-Islam, spokesperson of the moderate Hurriyat Conference; Mehrajuddin Kalwal; Nayeem Khan; and Farooq Ahmed Dar alias ‘Bitta Karate’.

(With PTI inputs)