NIA files Charge-sheet in the cross border LoC trade & terror funding case

Srinagar: The National Investigation Agency on Friday filed charge-sheet against three accused persons in cross border Line of Control trade and terror funding case.
The case was registered suo-moto on December 2016.
The accused Tanveer Ahmad Wani of Rajpora, Pulwama; Peer Arshad Iqbal of Khwaja Bagh, Baramulla and Bashir Ahmad Sofi of Drangbal Baramulla were charge sheeted under sections 120B of IPC and sections 17, 20, 21, 39 and 40 of UA(P) Act.
The NIA said the case pertains to profiteering and generation of funds through cross LoC trade between J&K and Pakistan occupied Kashmir and using of those funds for promotion of terrorist activities in Jammu & Kashmir.
The NIA said the investigations revealed that accused persons Tanveer Ahmad Wani & Peer Arshad Iqbal were Cross-LoC traders and were handling several Cross LoC trade firms, registered in the names of themselves and their friends, relatives, employees etc.
“Both of them raised terror funds by excess import than the export and by under-invoicing of imported Almonds from PoK based cross LoC traders,” the statement said.
“Investigation has established that both of the accused were also in a trading relationship with PoK based cross border Hizb-Ul-Muzahideen terrorists. After raising the terror funds, accused Tanveer Ahmad Wani had provided funds in cash to different terrorists of HM, JeM (Jaish-e-Mohammad) etc. Accused Peer Arshad Iqbal used to provide funds to accused Bashir Ahmad Sofi, an ex-militant of HM,” the NIA said, adding further investigations in the case are in progress.
Cross-LoC trade was launched in 2008 via two Trade Facilitation Centres (TFCs) located at Salamabad, Uri in Baramulla District and Chakan-da-Bagh in Poonch District. As per the trade mechanism put in place, 21 articles were allowed to be imported from PoK and exported from J&K. It was based on barter system and no transaction of money was involved.
“After scrutinising several documents , it has come to notice that extra-ordinary profits were generated by excess import and under-invoicing of imported almonds by the traders. It has also been found that some of the cross LoC traders of PoK are crossed-over terrorists and were backed by terrorist outfit, Hizb-Ul-Muzahideen (HM),” the NIA said.
The trade was suspended in April 2019.