Srinagar: While several political parties in Kashmir have raised questions regarding dismissal of some government employees for their alleged “terror links”, the officials insist that no innocent has been targeted.
Dismissing the accusations that due course of law was not followed while ordering these dismissals, officials say the step was taken after “proper investigation”.
Commenting on the dismissal of Hizbul Mujahiden chief Syed Salahuddin’s sons, the officials say that both were “actively involved in terror funding and worked closely with their father and his outfit”.
According to the officials, though there was “ample evidence” about the involvement of both Syed Ahmad Shakeel and Shahid Yusuf, sons of Salahuddin, “but due to favourable regimes, the facts were suppressed and evidence was buried”.
Salahuddin has been named as “Specially Designated Global Terrorist” by the US State Department and is on the “most wanted terrorist” list of the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
Giving details, the officials said that evidence reveals that Syed Ahmad Shakeel, who was a “backdoor appointee” in SKIMS in 1990s, was found to have “facilitated terror funding on at least six occasions.”
The second son, Shahid Yusuf, yet another “backdoor appointee” in the Agriculture department in 2007, is found to have been “involved in terror financing on nine occasions”.
“Shahid Yusuf even visited Dubai on a passport where father’s name was mentioned as Yousuf Mir instead of Syed Mohammad Yusuf. This was in 1999-2000. He was accompanied by one Nasir Mir, Hizbul Mujahideen operative who lives in Dubai.
“During his visit Shahid Yousuf met his father Salahuddin. He also met Nazir Ahmaed Qureshi, who is originally from Baramulla but now operates his Hawala syndicate from Saudi Arabia and London and finances terror activities in India,” the officials said while claiming that they have “clenching evidence to corroborate these facts”.
They further revealed that “Shahid was receiving money from one Aijaz Ahmed Bhat aka Aijaz Maqbool Bhat, a close aide of Salahuddin. Shahid was using multiple IDs to receive these funds from Aijaz.”
They say that Aijaz, “an active cadre of terror outfit Hizbul Mujahideen, crossed over to Pakistan in 1990 and is now responsible for collecting and transferring money to terror modules in Union Territory of J&K.”
“Aijaz used various addresses from Saudi Arabia to transfer these funds to Shahid through Western Union Money Transfer. Shahid while working as government employee covertly received these funds to hatch terror conspiracy against the country,” the officials say.
They also said that Syed Ahmad Shakeel, another government employee with SKIMS, “hatched a conspiracy to wage war against the country”.
Shakeel was appointed as Lab Technician in 1990. “Although, his activities were known but it was unraveled only after the NIA took over a terror funding case originally pursued by Special Cell of Delhi Police.
“The Central anti-terror agency probe revealed that Shakeel had in 2009-10 received money on six occasions from Aijaz Ahmed Bhat, the same Hizbul terrorist, who was financing his brother Shahid to carry out terror activities,” the officials claimed.
They further said that Shahid and Shakeel’s modus operandi were quite similar and “both used multiple identities to receive terror funds from multiple addresses in Saudi Arabia”.
Charges were framed against both last year.
