‘Raising funds for charity, using them for terror’ — why NIA raided Kashmir NGOs & trusts
India

‘Raising funds for charity, using them for terror’ — why NIA raided Kashmir NGOs & trusts

Those raided include Khurram Parvez, who runs the NGO JKCCS, his associates, and news agency AFP’s journalist Parvaiz Ahmad Bukhari.

   
Representational image for the National Investigation Agency | Photo: Twitter

Representational image for the National Investigation Agency | Twitter

New Delhi: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) Wednesday conducted raids at 10 locations in Kashmir’s Srinagar and Bandipora, including offices of activists, a daily newspaper and the homes of senior journalists, in connection with a terror-funding case.

Among those whose offices were raided Wednesday was activist Khurram Parvez, who runs the NGO J&K Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS). His associates Parvez Ahmad Matta and Bengaluru-based Swati Seshadri, and news agency AFP’s journalist Parvaiz Ahmad Bukhari were also raided, as was the office of Parveena Ahanger, chairperson of the Association of Parents of Disappeared Persons of Kashmir (APDPK). Offices of NGOs Athrout and GK Trust were also raided.

An NIA officer said the “so-called NGOs and trusts” were raising funds in India and abroad in the name of charitable activities, and then using those funds for carrying out “secessionist and separatist activities” in J&K.

ThePrint had reported last July that a host of NGOs, non-profit organisations, human rights and civil society groups based in Jammu and Kashmir and Pakistan were on the NIA’s radar for their alleged role in financing terror in the state. The officer said after investigation, the case was formally registered by the NIA on 8 October 2020 under sections of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.

“Several incriminating documents and electronic devices have been seized after the raids. Further investigation in the case is continued,” the officer said.

Soon after the raids, Peoples Democratic Party president Mehbooba Mufti tweeted, calling them a “vicious crackdown on freedom of expression and dissent”.


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No audits, no procedure

According to an NIA source, an investigation into these organisations had revealed that none of them were following required procedures, had not carried out any audits, and had ties to separatists.

The source claimed there were no details of where the money was being pumped in, where it was being spent, and no record of donors.

“Investigation also revealed that the groups and NGOs had not been checked for FCRA (Foreign Contribution Regulation Act) violations,” the source said. “Investigation further revealed that huge sums of money were reaching these organisation through hawala channels.”

The source added the NIA also has a few human rights activists and volunteers on its radar, including a Pune-based journalist-activist and one from Kashmir.

Pakistan parked money

The NIA had made a list of these organisations after receiving information that Pakistan had allegedly parked its money in them to fund terror activities in the Kashmir Valley and across India.

On the list were groups including Islamabad-based Relief Organisation for Kashmiri Muslims (ROKM), the Faisalabad-based Millat Trust that has offshoots in Jammu and Kashmir, and the JKCCS.

While ROKM’s website claims that it was founded to contribute to relief work and to provide aid to affected families in “Azad Jammu & Kashmir and Occupied Kashmir”, Indian investigators believe that the organisation is a “charitable front” of the Jamaat-e-Islami and has been pumping money into India through NGOs.

The ROKM, according to the Canadian Revenue Agency (CRA), is a charitable arm of Jamaat-e-Islami and Hizbul Mujahideen. The CRA had made the observation in 2018 when it suspended the Islamic Society of North America-Canada (ISNA) for funding groups such as the ROKM.

The JKCCS, however, claims to be an “amalgam of various non-funded, non-profit, campaign, research and advocacy organisations based in Srinagar, Jammu and Kashmir.”

The source quoted above further said that the websites of these NGOs and charities had just a few pages of information about what they did, and a few photos of them feeding the poor or distributing blankets, with no details of how they are funded and by whom.

Moreover, trustees of these NGOs in some cases were also found to be directly linked to separatist groups.

“Money reaching these NGO and groups was coming from hawala via Pakistan and Dubai,” the source said.

(With inputs from Azaan Javaid)


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