Mehbooba Mufti has called the raids an offensive against dissent.
Srinagar:
The National Investigation Agency (NIA) today conducted searches at 10 locations, including the premises of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and a local newspaper in Srinagar, in connection with a terrorist financing investigation.
These entities were receiving money from undisclosed donors that was then used to fund terrorist activities, according to a statement from the NIA. In addition to Srinagar, the raids were carried out in Bandipora in northern Kashmir and Bengaluru.
The locations raided include the residence and offices of Khurram Parvez, Coordinator of the J&K Civil Society Coalition, his associates Parvez Ahmad Bukhari, Parvez Ahmad Matta and Swati Sheshadri; Parveena Ahanger, president of the Association of Parents of Missing Persons, the NGO Athrout and the Greater Kailash Trust, according to the NIA statement.
Several incriminating electronic documents and devices were seized, an NIA spokesperson said. The agency was assisted by local police and paramilitary personnel in carrying out the raids.
Mehbooba Mufti, the head of the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Democratic Party, called the action a harsh crackdown on dissent.
The NIA raids against human rights activist Khurram Parvez and the Greater Kashmir office in Srinagar are another example of the Government of India’s brutal crackdown on freedom of expression and dissent. Sadly, the NIA has become BJP’s pet agency to intimidate and frighten those who refuse to follow the line.
– Mehbooba Mufti (@MehboobaMufti) October 28, 2020
Anuradha Bhasin, a senior journalist and editor of the Kashmir Times, said the raids were aimed at silencing even a whisper in the Union Territory.
The NIA raids on GK’s office and the home of human resources defender Khurram Parvez are attempts to silence even our whispers (and they are afraid even of that). This comes a day after the territorial laws that weaken it. Can this be just a coincidence?
– Anuradha Bhasin (@AnuradhaBhasin_) October 28, 2020
In another tweet, Mehbooba Mufti alleged that the Indian government wants the media to write opinion pieces on diabetes and yoga rather than what she called the “plunder of the land and resources of J&K.”
The PDP chief was referring to the notification of a law Tuesday by the central government, which allows residents of any state to buy urban land and real estate in Jammu and Kashmir. Previously, only residents of Jammu and Kashmir could buy land in the state.
The removal of special powers of the state under Article 370 of the Constitution last year, along with the bifurcation of the state into two Union territories, paved the way for this change in the land law.
The move sparked a series of protests from local political parties.
“JK is now for sale and the poorest small landowners will suffer,” former Chief Minister Omar Abdullah tweeted Tuesday.
Officials from the Union Home Office, however, said that with this move, the Center had brought uniformity in land laws across India.
.
