Jammu and Kashmir police on Wednesday broadened its crackdown ambit to include the Valley’s top separatist leaders, including those in jail, a day after home minister Amit Shah proclaimed that separatism in Kashmir was now “history”.
The police conducted raids at the homes of top separatists in Srinagar, Baramulla and Anantnag districts in connection with cases registered under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The targets of the raids included the Sopore and Srinagar houses of the former chief of the moderate Hurriyat faction, Prof. Abdul Gani Bhat; the jailed chief of the hardline Hurriyat faction, Masarrat Alam; and the jailed chief of the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Freedom Party (JKDFP), Shabir Shah.
The Valley has been witnessing such raids for the past few days, but the homes of separatists were searched for the first time on Wednesday.
Officials said the cases pertained to banned organisations, including the Bhat-led Jammu and Kashmir Muslim Conference, Jammu and Kashmir Muslim League and the JKDFP.
All these leaders have multiple FIRs registered against them under different sections of the UAPA and the IPC. The cases are lodged in Rajbagh, Saddar and Shaheed Gunj police stations, among others.
Other leaders targeted in Srinagar included Mushtaq Ahmad Bhat, Ghulam Nabi Wagay, Feroz Ahmad Khan, Mohammad Nazir Khan, Hakeem Abdul Rashid and Javed Ahmad Munshi.
In Anantnag district, raids took place at the homes of Ashaq Hussain Narchor, Fayaz Ahmad Dass, Mohammad Rafiq Dar, Ghulam Nabi Sumji, Manzoor Ahmad Misger, Mukthar Ahmad Sofi, Mukthar Ahmad Waza and Mohammad Shafi Khan.
A police officer said the raids were conducted after obtaining search warrants from the special judge designated under the NIA Act in Srinagar.
“In accordance with legal procedures, all searches were carried out in the presence of an executive magistrate and independent witnesses,” he said.
The officer said the investigation aimed to dismantle the “remnants of the secessionist and terrorist ecosystem in Jammu and Kashmir by identifying and taking legal action against individuals engaged in such activities”.
“Any individual found furthering the agenda of violence, disruption or unlawful activities will face strict legal consequences under the law,” he added.
Videos showed multiple police teams, assisted by the CRPF, carrying out searches.
On Tuesday, Shah had said the “unifying policies of the Modi government have tossed separatism out of J&K”.
“Two organisations associated with the Hurriyat have announced the severing of all ties with separatism,” he had posted on X.
In a social media post, the Union home minister had named the Jammu and Kashmir People’s Movement (JKPM) and the Jammu and Kashmir Democratic Political Movement (JKDPM) as having cut all ties with separatism. In a redacted post soon after, he had removed the names.
The home minister also urged other groups to shun separatism.
“I welcome this step towards strengthening Bharat’s unity and urge all such groups to come forward and shedseparatism once and for all.It is a big victory for PM Shri @narendramodi Ji’s visionof building a developed,peaceful and unified Bharat,” Shah wrote.