NIA arrests J&K man in connection with alleged funding of LeT proxy TRF
The TRF claimed responsibility for the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, which claimed 26 lives, but later tried to disassociate itself from the ghastly killings as global condemnation mounted. Probe agencies have said the TRF is a name Pakistan uses for LeT, a UN-designated terrorist, to avoid international sanctions.
An official said Shafat Maqbool Wani, the Handwara resident, was arrested last week under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA). NIA's Jammu unit, which is investigating the Pahalgam attack, questioned Wani for six days from June 28 to July 3.
Wani has been arrested in a separate, larger conspiracy probe into the TRF in Kashmir. It was not immediately known if he had any information about the funding of the Pahalgam attackers.
Wani is suspected to have received funds from the TRF from across the border to promote terrorist activities in India. HT on June 26 reported about NIA's fresh, larger conspiracy probe into the outfit's funding.
The TRF has over the last three years claimed responsibility for attacks on civilians, including migrant workers and Kashmiri Pandits. Security agencies have said the outfit was also behind the twin-drone attacks on the Jammu Indian Air Force station in June 2021. They have said Pakistan propped up the TRF to avoid scrutiny from the Financial Action Task Force.
The Union home ministry banned the TRF in January 2023 under the UAPA. It has underlined the 'need to unearth the larger conspiracy,' as funding of the Pakistan-based TRF has grave national and international ramifications.
TRF commander, Sajjad Gul, was declared an individual terrorist in 2022.
In June, the NIA arrested Parvaiz Ahmad Jothar and Bashir Ahmad Jothar for allegedly harbouring three Pakistani attackers and providing them with food and logistics ahead of the Pahalgam attack.
NIA said the two knowingly harboured the three armed terrorists at a seasonal hut before the attack on tourists. 'The two men provided food, shelter, and logistical support to the terrorists who selectively killed the tourists based on their religious identity,' the agency said in a statement on June 22.
The agency said the two identified the three Pakistani attackers, but it did not confirm if they are the ones whose sketches were released on April 24.
India responded to the terror attack with Operation Sindoor on May 7, bombing nine terrorist camps across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, killing at least 100 terrorists. The operation sparked four days of cross-border fighting involving fighter jets, missiles, and artillery.
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