Terrorist Operating from Pak Declared Fugitive in Kashmir Terror Funding Case

In a significant development in a terror-funding probe, a special court in Jammu has declared Pakistan-based Hizbul Mujahideen terrorist Mushtaq Ahmad Mir a proclaimed offender in a case linked to funding of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami through Al-Huda Education Trust. Mir, a native of Thanamang village in Darhal, Rajouri district, had crossed the Line of Control (LoC) in 1995-96 to join terror ranks and is currently operating from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), authorities said.

The court of Special Judge Prem Sagar, National Investigation Agency (NIA) Court, passed the order while allowing an application filed by the NIA under Section 84 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS). The court observed that despite issuance of non-bailable warrants and publication of notices in newspapers, the accused neither surrendered nor appeared before the court. Noting that there was no immediate prospect of his arrest, the court declared him a proclaimed offender.

What Is The Al-Huda Case?

The case was registered by the NIA on September 3, 2022, to probe the suspicious activities of Al-Huda Educational Trust (AHET) after Jamaat-e-Islami J&K was declared an unlawful association under UAPA in February 2019. According to NIA investigations, the Jamaat continued its secessionist activities through frontal organisations like AHET. The Rajouri-based trust was formed by the Jamaat with the explicit purpose of mobilising funds to carry on its anti-India agenda, the probe said.

The NIA chargesheet filed in the special court K named four accused. Investigations revealed that one of the four accused, Shamsi, responsible for the day-to-day functioning of AHET, collected funds in the form of educational and religious donations and through hawala channels from Pakistan. Mir sent funds to Shamsi via hawala, which were used to organise propaganda meetings to motivate youth for secessionist and terror activities, as per the prosecution.