NIA Terror Funding Case: In a big revelation, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) has found that The Resistance Front has received funds from Gulf, Malaysia, on behalf of the Pakistani actors. Pakistan has been funding the TRF to fuel the localised terror attacks in Kashmir to show it as a rebellion from the local people. NIA has found during its investigation that the activities of The Resistance Front cannot help Pakistan use it as a proxy to escape from the FATF. The TRF has locals who, at the behest of Pakistan, are in touch with people in the Gulf and Malaysia to ensure that the funds are provided to run the activities of this terror outfit.
What Is TRF?
What Is TRF?
The Resistance Front is a terror outfit created by Pakistan as an arm of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and has a deep-rooted network in Jammu and Kashmir. The TRF was formed and projected as a local outfit from Jammu and Kashmir. The outfit was meant to give both Pakistan and the Lashkar-e-Taiba a deniability factor. Moreover, Pakistan wanted terror attacks to continue and also ensure that it did not come under the scrutiny of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The TRF has been declared The Resistance Front as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation and a Specially Designated Global Terrorist entity.
While the NIA has gathered crucial details regarding the operations of the TRF, finding the complete money trail is key to the probe. On August 13, the NIA had said that it had uncovered a foreign trail of funds that was being probed extensively.
NIA Probe Uncovers Link
During its probe, NIA named one Sajad Ahmed Mir, a resident of Malaysia. Phone calls of a suspect, Yasir Hayat, revealed that he was in touch with Mir to arrange for the funds. Hayat has made several visits to Malaysia to arrange for funds.
Investigations so far indicate that, with the assistance of a contact in Malaysia, he managed to raise Rs 9 lakh for The Resistance Front (TRF). The funds were subsequently handed over to another operative, identified as Shafat Wani, to support the group’s activities.
Wani, a key member of the TRF network, is also reported to have travelled to Malaysia. He claimed that his visit was for attending a university conference, though officials confirmed that the university had not sponsored his trip.
The NIA also learnt that Hayat, apart from staying in touch with Mir, was also in contact with two Pakistanis. His activities were all about raising funds, and the probe suggests that his job was to be in touch with foreign operatives and raise money for the terror outfit.
463 Contacts, Terror Probe Widens
There are 463 contacts on Hayat’s phone that the NIA is probing extensively. Calls have been made to Pakistan and Malaysia on several occasions. All these numbers are being probed, and investigators say that this is crucial to uncover the funding network of The Resistance Front.
Pakistan’s FATF Listing
These details are important to uncover the trail, and they would help India expose Pakistan before the FATF. India has been building up a case against Pakistan on terror funding to ensure that it gets back onto the Grey List. The Resistance Front was created in 2019 to replace the declining Hizbul Mujahideen and also give a fresh identity to local terror activities. (With IANS inputs)
