Kashmiri separatist leader Shabbir Shah's Pakistan funding under probe: ED tells court

NEW DELHI: Kashmiri separatist leader Shabbir Shah was involved in generating huge proceeds of crime from Pakistan and other countries to create unrest in the Valley, the Enforcement Directorate told a Delhi court on Tuesday.

The ED made the submissions before Special Judge Dharmender Rana while opposing his bail application in a money laundering case which was adjourned for June 29. The agency told the court that Shah amassed huge wealth in the form of immovable and movable properties. 

"Shabbir Shah was also involved in terror financing activities as terrorists need money to sustain themselves. Money laundering is the method by which criminals disguise the illegal origins of their wealth and protect their asset bases, so as to avoid the suspicion of law enforcement agencies and prevent leaving a trail of incriminating evidence," the agency said.

The ED said that Shah was in regular touch with Hafiz Sayeed, chief of banned terrorist outfit Jamat-Ud-Dawa (JuD), based in Pakistan. "Shah was also in touch with one Mohd Shafi Shayar, who belongs to Kashmir and had escaped to Pakistan along with his family after his release from Central Jail Jammu," it said.

The agency claimed that there were serious allegations against the applicant and further investigation in the matter was going on. Shah had moved bail application, claiming there was no likelihood of the trial being completed any time soon in the case due to the pandemic.