How does Terrorism get funded in Kashmir
- In Military & Strategic Affairs
- 02:25 PM, Sep 29, 2016
- Sona Roy
Kashmir has been burning for decades now. Sometimes it is a jungle fire, wild and difficult to control, otherwise it’s a bonfire, keeps erupting a bit but doused quickly, but it’s burning. Who ignites it and who fans it, is pretty apparent, but more important is to know who supplies the fuel? Who funds these terrorists?
Recently almost 20-25 bank accounts in Kashmir came under NIA’s scanner. These accounts saw sudden increase in huge deposits and the withdrawals happened around Kashmir unrest over Burhan Wani’s killing. All these account holders were mostly people whose income was otherwise less than 5000₹ a month. There was an account which received a huge amount of money and was abruptly closed the very next day after withdrawal. According to an IB report, Pakistan funnels almost 100 Crores every year through various hawala channels to keep Kashmir burning. These funds go to various separatist leaders who distribute it amongst terrorists, rioters and stone pelters. There’s a proper rate card fixed, based on which the money is distributed.
About two years back, NewsX had done a report on how ISI had a terrorist rate card for different kinds of terror attacks and fake currency circulation. The report also mentioned how beheading of Jawan Hemraj was carried in coordination with ISI, LeT and Jaish for 5000 USD. The ISI reward rate card includes 5000 rupees for placing land mines on Indian soil and 10,000 for killing an Indian soldier in a firefight.
Fidayeens or suicide bombers are given assurance that the militant leadership shall take care of his family after his death. Usually the remuneration is somewhere around 20,000₹ ex-gratia and a monthly amount of 3000-5000₹. When a person joins the militant group, he receives a lump-sum amount ranging between 10,000₹ to 50,000₹, and a monthly salary between 5000₹ to 10,000₹. These militants are also rewarded with a big amount in case of showing “extraordinary performance”.
Now let’s see how this money gets across to the accounts of these separatist leaders.
1- Through NGO’s and charitable organizations
Sustaining terrorism for close to three decades, involves a huge amount of money and has to be in the form of continuous cash flow. Apparently ISI has been diverting a good amount of money that it receives from US to separatists in Kashmir. The funds to these terror groups and Kashmiri separatist leaders are routed in small increments thru Islamic charities to avoid detection.
According to an investigation report these funds are pumped through shadow charity groups like J&K Affectees Relief Trust and Falah-a-Alam Trust, which top the list and help finance Hizbul Mujahideen. JKART on the front face is the organization aiming to provide food, shelter and healthcare to displaced Kashmiri families. The intercepted conversation between Masroor Dar, head of JKART and Syed Salahuddin revealed this hawala network and how Dar along with his partner Mahboob-ul-Haq have been the prime organizers of Hizbul’s money transactions.
NIA had also taken into custody Shafi Shah, the Hizbul operative who revealed a great deal of information regarding the funding of the network. More than 2 million USD have been pumped into Kashmir valley through Hizbul alone. Apart from being the hawala channel for terrorist organizations, this trust also helps terrorist infiltration. The terror funding primarily happens from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and Muzaffarabad.
There are many NGO’s across India that facilitate this money laundering to fund terrorism as then the money trail becomes hard to detect. These NGO’s are mostly based in UP, Karnataka, Kerala, Maharashtra, WB and J&K. They fund various terrorist organizations, separatists and Naxals too. Amongst these states Kerala tops the list with Gulf money being pumped and then distributed across India.
Funds come as Islamic zakat to Kerala from Mid-East and is distributed through IM and SIMI to other terrorist groups including the ones active in Kashmir, to fund terrorism. When insurgency started in Kashmir, there was a big Pakistan lobby backed by an overseas Kashmiri Muslim diaspora which started collection of funds in the name of “Islam under threat”. This group has been mostly active in UK, Canada, Italy and Mid East. In 2013 the Canada Revenue Agency revoked the charitable status of Islamic Society of North America & Canada Development Foundation after it was investigated and found that the organization had funneled 280,000 USD to Jamaat-e-Islami through Kashmiri Canadian council.
2- Fake currency racket
ISI operates not just in funding terror groups but also pumping fake currency in India to hit the economy of India and it’s done mainly via Bangladesh. Arrest of Abdul Aleem and journalist Nandalal Bose revealed how the fake currency racket uses agents from Bangladesh to India in trains. The fake currency seized from Aleem was printed in Pakistan and Bangladesh and was smuggled via Malda. It’s a methodical economy warfare waged by Pakistan, the Economic-Jihad they call it.
This is how fake currency enters India-
“Fake currency” has become one of the major sources in funding terrorism. One report actually described in detail how fake currency is deposited in some banks of Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Singapore and Thailand and later shipped through Bangkok, Kathmandu and Dhaka airports to select border points through “couriers”. The arrest of Ghulam Nabi Fai in America not only revealed the facts about the ISI funding Kashmir insurgency but also how this money Mafia operates.
24th Dec’10 Indian Express reported-fake currency of 34.88₹ Lakh recovered in J&K
11th March’14 Daily Excelsior reported- fake currency racket busted, 12 arrested and ₹8 Lakh of fake currency recovered
8th Dec’15 Kashmir Observer reported- ₹17 Lakh fake currency recovered from 15 people in Jammu
25th Jan’16 Times of India reported- fake currency worth ₹3 Lakh recovered by Bangaluru police from a man from J&K
In 2011 US department of State released the International Narcotics Control Strategy Report, which mentioned how India was facing an increasing inflow of high quality counterfeit currency, produced mainly in Pakistan and smuggled through multiple international routes. The most prominent name that emerged was Dawood Ibrahim, and this part of his “business” was handled by two of his gang members Aftab Bhakti and Babu Gaithan. This network of fake currency business is managed from Dubai. October 7, 2011 IBN Live reported how the money Mafia uses Indian laborers as “courier” to carry fake currency. Arrest of LeT operative Abdul Karim Tunda and the 2011 arrest of Hizbul Mujahideen men revealed how ISI runs the network of fake currency and how it funds terrorism in Kashmir.
3- Drug deals
Another important channel of terror funding has been Narcotics. ISI does not only pump fake currency in India but also illegal drugs worth 1100 million USD every year. The drug money is utilized in funding terrorism in Kashmir while drugs are destroying the youth. Terrorists use these drug addicts as their couriers to transport currency and ammunition. In the Pathankot attacks, the terrorists apparently used the drug smugglers and their route.
These drug smugglers use Pakistani SIM cards to mislead Indian security agencies. The drug business worth multi billion rupees involves some powerful people from our side too, politicians bureaucrats etc. and a major portion of the money generated is used for terrorism not just in Kashmir but also other parts of India like North East. This drug trafficking happens through borders of Punjab and Kashmir and also Nepal and Bangladesh.
Recently there was a Times Now report that revealed how Dawood is involved in this fund transfer to terrorist groups and how Boko Haram is targeting India for drug dealing income facilitated by him. ISI had arranged the meeting between Dawood‘s brother Anees and Boko haram leader Abubakar Shekau to facilitate illegal drug entry in India. In 2008, there was an intelligence report which stated how ISI was using Samjhauta Express and Karvan-e-Aman bus service to smuggle weapons, currency, drugs and spies too. It’s called the “Sawari” or courier system and is an enormously organized network.
The answer to who funds terrorism in Kashmir lies in the nexus created by ISI which includes money Mafia, drug smugglers, politicians, builders and local criminal gangs.
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