The ministry of home affairs (MHA) on Sunday declared Jammu and Kashmir-based Tehreek-e-Hurriyat (TeH) a banned organisation under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act or UAPA for fomenting terrorism and spreading anti-India activities.
Announcing the decision on X, the Union home minister said, “The ‘Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, J&K (TeH) has been declared an ‘Unlawful Association’ under Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The outfit is involved in forbidden activities to separate J&K from India and establish Islamic rule.”
“Under Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji’s zero-tolerance policy against terrorism, any individual or organization found involved in anti-India activities will be thwarted forthwith,” he added.
According to a statement issued by the MHA, “The objective of Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Jammu and Kashmir (TeH) is to separate Jammu and Kashmir from India and establish Islamic rule in Jammu and Kashmir. This organisation has been involved in fomenting terrorism and anti-India propaganda for fueling secessionism in Jammu and Kashmir, which is prejudicial to the sovereignty, security and integrity of India”.
Many criminal cases have been registered against Tehreek-e-Hurriyat under various sections of UAPA, the arms act and the Indian Penal Code, the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}Many criminal cases have been registered against Tehreek-e-Hurriyat under various sections of UAPA, the arms act and the Indian Penal Code, the statement added.
{{/usCountry}}Formed by separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani in 2004, the pro-Pakistan group was headed by Masarat Alam Bhat. Bhat is currently lodged in prison, and his party- Muslim League, J&K, was last week banned under the terror law.
The leaders and members of TeH, according to a MHA notification, “Have been involved in raising funds through various sources including Pakistan and its proxy organisations for perpetrating unlawful activities, including supporting terrorist activities, sustained stone-pelting on Security Forces in Jammu and Kashmir”.
Asserting that TeH and its members by their activities show sheer disrespect towards the constitutional authority and constitutional set-up of the country, the MHA stated, “The TeH members are paying tributes to terrorists who were killed in encounters with Security Forces, and its members have been involved in supporting terrorist activities with an intent to create a reign of terror in the country, thereby endangering the security and public order of the State”.
TeH never believed in a democratic system of governance, and TeH leadership gave repeated calls to boycott assembly elections on multiple occasions, it said.