ED attaches 13 properties in terror funding case against Hizbul chief Syed Salahuddin

ED said the attached properties are in the names of Bandipora resident Mohammad Shafi Shah and six other Kashmiris, who are accused of working for Hizbul Mujahideen.

ED has issued a provisional order under the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA) to attach these properties, according to a PTI report.

The ED move follows the filing of charges by the National Investigating Agency (NIA) against Salahuddin, Shah and others under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Action (UAPA) and other sections of the Indian Penal Code.

"Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the most active terror outfit in Kashmir, has been responsible for funding terrorist and secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir. Headed by Syed Salahuddin, its self-styled commander based out of Rawalpindi in Pakistan, it funds terrorism on Indian soil through monies organised by a trust called JKART (Jammu and Kashmir Affectees Relief Trust) in alleged connivance with the ISI and other Pakistan-based entities," the ED said in a statement.

The ED said a thorough probe has revealed that the funds were meant for carrying out terror activities in India and that the the terrorists used the havala route for fund transfer. "The funds are illegally distributed to the next of kin of Hizbul Mujahideen terrorists, active and dead," it said.

Salahuddin, chief of the Hizbul Mujahideen, a US-designated 'foreign terrorist organisation', is also the chairman of the United Jehad Council (UJC), a conglomerate of terror groups active in Jammu and Kashmir.

In 2017, Salahuddin's son Syed Shahid Yousuf was arrested by the NIA in connection with this case. Yousuf was working in Jammu and Kashmir agriculture department but he was suspended from service after arrest. Shah and three others are currently confined to New Delhi’s Tihar jail.