NIA conducts raids on LoC traders' houses in Srinagar

The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has raided the houses of several LoC traders in connection with Hawala funding. The raids follow a string of similar operations by the NIA in the Valley since 2017.

Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Wednesday conducted raids in Srinagar on LoC traders' houses in connection with Hawala funding.

Sources said that the NIA teams early morning today raided the houses of Ghulam Ahmad Dar, Ishfaq Ahmad Dar and Muhammad Ayoub Matta at Danderkha Batamaloo and Mushtaq Ahmad Khan at Mandar Bagh, Srinagar.

NIA has been conducting raids in Jammu and Kashmir since 2017 after it arrested several separatists leaders and traders accusing them of being involved in Hawala funding and promoting militancy in Kashmir.

Several top separatist leaders including Shabir Shah, Nayeem Khan, Ayaz Akbar, Altaf Ahmad Shah, Shahid Ul Islam are under NIA custody and presently lodged in Tihar jail in Delhi.

The cross-LoC trade on Srinagar-Muzaffarabad and Poonch-Rawalakote routes was started on October 21, 2008 as a Confidence Building Measure between India and Pakistan to bring peace.

However, since Pulwama attack on CRPF convoy in February last year in which 40 CRPF men were killed the trade remains suspended.