The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has said that separatists used to recommend studies in Pakistan for students from Jammu and Kashmir who had a vital role in violent activities like stoning, fussing against the Indian Army and security forces. The NIA has received letters of recommendation from separatists to get Pakistani visas for such students. The agency had earlier termed the sending of Kashmiri students by separatists for admission to medical institutions in Pakistan as an alternative process of funding to terrorist groups.

In fact, the NIA registered a case of terrorist funding in 2017 and arrested several people including Altaf Ahmed Shah alias Funtush, son-in-law of pro-Pakistan Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Gilani has opted out of politics in the past week. According to the NIA, separatists take huge sums of money from Kashmiri students going to Pakistan in lieu of these recommendation letters, a large part of which is being sent to terrorists to shake the valley.

The revelation came after the NIA busted terrorist funding from non-banking channels, including Hawala. In the charge sheet presented in the court in the year 2018, the NIA said that Pakistan's visas were available only to students who were relatives of a former terrorist or were associated with a terrorist operating in the valley. These students were involved in some form of anti-national activities or knew Hurriyat leaders.

Every year 100 students were sent to Pakistan, a new option for funding terrorists

According to a senior official, students of the valley have to pay money to the separatists and their affiliates for admission to Pakistan's colleges, when the recommendation letter was received. This letter has to be submitted to the Pakistan High Commission in Delhi. After that such students would get admission to Pakistan's colleges. The NIA has revealed this new option and network of terrorist funding in its charge sheet. Under this, about 100 Kashmiri students were sent to Pakistan every year.

This was Pakistani medical seat racket

Officials said, two decades ago, the then Pakistan dictator President General Pervez Musharraf's government decided to reserve seats in Kashmiri students' engineering and medical colleges in PoK, Islamabad, Karachi, and Lahore. Under this, Kashmiri students with the anti-India mentality, who do not get admission to local colleges, would turn to Pakistan. Most of the seats were sponsored by the Government of Pakistan. The responsibility for the allocation of these seats was given to the separatist leaders like PoK and Hurriyat of Kashmir.

Trying to provoke against India

It is said that these Kashmiri students who went to Pakistan are brainwashed and incited against India so that the efforts of the Government of India of peace in Kashmir can be thwarted. Many students are drawn to espionage against India. Some students are also asked to spread fake news related to human rights violations on behalf of Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir.