HVK Archives: Militant moneybags
Militant moneybags - The Indian Express
Aasha Khosa
()
April 24, 1998
Title: Militant moneybags
Author: Aasha Khosa
Publication: The Indian Express
Date: April 24, 1998
Shabir shah failed his admirers across Kashmir by declaring his
assets worth Rs one crore created out of the funds sent from
abroad for the "liberation movement". ou too?" exclaimed
Kashmiris, who have grudgingly ,watched the rags-to-riches rise
of many leaders of the armed agency. Shah's sudden concern for
widows and orphans of Kashmir - left behind by eight years of
violence - to whom he wished to donate these properties, lost
credibility as he seemed to be doing so to stem a rebellion
against him inside his party the People's League. The spirit of
philanthropy behind his act paled into in significance as Shah's
partymen cried that the self-styled "prisoner of conscience" had
revealed only a small part of his wealth and concealed a huge
chunk.
These incidents give credence to what has been common knowledge
in Kashmir. Money is collected from the non-resident Kashmiris
and the Muslim world in the name of "widows and orphans" through
a series of frontal organisations based in Europe and the Middle-
east.
Intelligence agencies say they have worked the route of funds to
Kashmir but have no concrete evidence to nail the involved in a
court of law. The money, they say, comes from four sources -- the
NRIs contributions; donations from Muslim's in Middle-east which
is channelised through the regular hawala rackets, and from
across the border and donations directly received by the various
educational, social and human rights fronts allegedly floated by
secessionist organisations.
It was for grabbing the money from Pakistan that even senior
politicians had floated their militant groups. At one stage,
about 150 militant groups existed in Kashmir - many of them on
paper! Sources say that although the separatists in Kashmir are
facing a resource crunch from the Pakistan side, in the initial
years of insurgency the ISI had filled the Valley with money.
"There were separate allocation for the political and the
militant outfits," said a disgruntled separatist leader.
A leading pro-Pakistan armed group alone receives Rs 55 lakh per
month mostly for distribution among its cadre and a token stipend
to the dependents of the slain militants. Tehreek-Ul-Mujjahideen
continues to remain the nodal distributing agency for the hosts
of pro Pakistan groups, sources say. Besides, the armed gunmen
infiltrating after the training from Pakistan, often act as
couriers for their respective organisations.
The pro-independence Jammu and Kashmir Liberation front (JKLF)
and Peoples' Conference (of Abdul Ghani Lone) were at one time
the top recipients of Pakistani aid. Peoples' Conference through
its armed front, the Albarq, continues to be in the good books of
the ISI. Lone is facing charges of FERA violations and the
security agencies have traced a couple of benami bank accounts to
him. "But it is difficult to prove such cases in the court of law
and the only hope is that such exposures would unravel the true
faces and motives of the separatist leaders before the public,"
an investigator said.
The foreign fund flow to Kashmir has created a booming parallel
economy in Kashmir. A University teacher remarked: "There are no
signs of economic depression in Kashmir in spite of the
turbulence - after all the Centre continues its aid and Pakistan
too does not lag behind."
A foreign journalist, who had covered militancy abroad, recently
came to Kashmir. He was pleasantly surprised to see the well-
stocked shops and the construction boom in Srinagar. "I thought I
will be visiting a city in ruins if the media reports are true,"
he said.
Many secessionist supporters feel betrayed by the flow of foreign
funds. "Money has only subjugated our cause," laments an old
separatist leader. He returned to Kashmir after a long-stint
abroad.
"I realised that we are losing genuine support in the world as
continuing a movement on sheer strength of propaganda is not
feasible." Disappointed, he returned home to infuse sense into
the leadership but was shocked to find that "militancy is already
an established business in Kashmir."
APHC leaders already stand accused of "lavish lifestyles and
raising personal properties" - a charge vehemently denied by
them.
"I never got even a single pie," said a leader wishing not to be
quoted and named two of his APHC colleagues who were receiving
money. An APHC leader who lives in a palatial bungalow in one of
Srinagar's posh localities which he has purchased from a Kashmiri
Hindu says it "is his party office".
Shah's move to disclose his assets has provoked his detractors to
label him as a timid and wavering politician. Many feel the much
incarcerated separatist of Kashmir was retiring to a normal life.
Analysts however say Shah's disclosure has paved the way for some
sort of accountability of foreign funds to Kashmiri leaders.
The donations from the West will stop immediately, said a
columnist of a Srinagar-based newspaper. Intelligence agencies
predict bad times for those looking for money through separatist
sloganeering.
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