Terror funding probe: NIA arrests two from Uttar Pradesh

Both were linked to Kashmiri separatist leader Peer Saifullah, who was among seven separatist leaders arrested by the NIA on Monday.

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Tuesday arrested two people in connection with its probe into Pakistan’s terror funding in the Kashmir Valley, officials said.

The NIA is investigating if funds from Pakistan were used to fuel last year’s unrest in the Kashmir Valley that left 100 people dead. (File)

The two, who were held in Kanpur in Uttar Pradesh, have been identified as Atif and Asif, an official said.

Atif was arrested on charges of providing weapons and ammunition to the separatists and Asif was said to be a part of the conspiracy.

Both were linked to Kashmiri separatist leader Peer Saifullah, who was among seven separatist leaders arrested by the NIA on Monday.

The seven - Nayeem Khan, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar, Peer Saifullah and Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal - were arrested on charges of receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone pelting in the valley.

Shah is the son-in-law of hardline Hurriyat leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani, who advocates Jammu and Kashmir’s merger with Pakistan, and Shahid-ul-Islam is a close aide of moderate Hurriyat leader Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. Akbar is the spokesperson for the Geelani-led Hurriyat.