The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has opposed the bail plea of Kashmiri separatist Shabir Shah, currently lodged in Tihar jail under judicial custody in a Delhi court.
While opposing the bail application in the terror funding case, the law enforcement agency informed the court that the chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party, Shabir Shah conspired with Pakistan to create unrest in Jammu and Kashmir.
ED: Shabir Shah was involved in generation of huge proceeds of crime from various countries including Pakistan to create unrest in #Kashmir; was in touch with JuD’s Hafiz Saeed. pic.twitter.com/iBEUm2gjZN
— Asianet Newsable (@AsianetNewsEN) June 22, 2021
The ED in its reply filed in response to the bail petition, stated: “Shabir Shah was also involved in terror financing activities as terrorists need money to sustain themselves and to carry out terrorist acts.”
“Money-laundering is the method by which criminals disguise the illegal origins of their wealth and protect their asset bases, so as to avoid the suspicion of law enforcement agencies and prevent leaving a trail of incriminating evidence,” the law enforcement agency said, adding that “he was involved in the generation of huge proceeds of crime from various countries including Pakistan to create unrest in Kashmir.”
While opposing the bail plea of Kashmiri separatist Shabir Shah, the ED also informed the court that the Kashmiri separatist leader was in regular touch with the 26/11 mastermind and Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed.
The first case against Shabir Shah was registered in 2007 for his alleged role in a money laundering case in 2005 for the purpose of terror financing. He was arrested by the ED on July 25, 2017, in connection with the 2005 case.
In another case, the NIA took Shah in custody in June 2019 in connection with its probe into a separate terror funding case involving the UN-designated terrorist Hafiz Saeed.
Besides Shabir Shah, the NIA had taken Masarat Alam Bhat, the alleged kingpin of stone-pelting into custody along with Asiya Andrabi who heads the women’s secessionist group Dukhtaren-e-Millat. All the three had been taken in for questioning for their roles in terror funding.
