Separatist JKLF chief Yasin Malik arrested amid wider crackdown
Police have arrested separatist leader and Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Muhammad Yasin Malik in Srinagar. Police have also been deployed outside the Hyderpora residence of hardline Hurriyat Conference chairman Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Hurriyat co-chairman Mirwaiz Umar Farooq has been placed under house arrest. The apparent crackdown on Kashmiri separatists comes just ahead of a meeting called by the Hurriyat Conference.
Crackdown on terrorist-financing: NIA raids 26 locations in three states
As a continuation of Indian security agencies' crackdown on terrorist financing, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided about 26 premises owned by separatist leaders and businessmen across three states. The raids conduced in Haryana, J&K and Delhi aimed to uncover trails through which money was being channelled to fuel violence in the Kashmir valley. The raids were condemned by separatist leaders.
Malik's arrest comes week after release from jail
On May 28, Malik was arrested after he met the families of Hizbul Mujahideen commander Sabzar Bhat and Faizan Ahmad. Both terrorists were recently killed by security forces in an operation in Saimoh village on May 27. Malik was later released.
Crackdown comes after separatists threats over NIA raids
The crackdown comes after the National Intelligence Agency (NIA) raided the residences of separatist leaders. Malik was released from jail last week, following which, he warned of "dire consequences" and street protests in response to the raids. The JKLF, Geelani and Farooq, had in a joint statement, condemned the raids as an attempt by the central government to discredit separatist leaders and their movement.
