NEW DELHI — The Centre on Thursday directed the Jammu and Kashmir administration to seize all assets and freeze bank accounts and finances belonging to the pro-Pakistan separatist amalgam Tehreek-e-Hurriyat and Muslim League Jammu Kashmir headed by separatist Masarat Alam.
Both the organisations were recently banned by the government.
Tehreek-e-Hurriyat was founded by late separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Issuing two identical notifications, the Union Home Ministry said the Muslim League Jammu Kashmir (Masarat Alam faction) was declared unlawful outfit on December 27, 2023 under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 and the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat, Jammu and Kashmir (TeH) was banned on December 31, 2023 under the same law.
”Now, therefore, in exercise of the powers conferred by section 42 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the central government hereby directs that all powers exercisable by it under section 7 and section 8 of the said Act shall be exercised also by the state governments and the Union Territory administration in relation to the above said unlawful association,” the notification read.
The Section 7 of the UAPA is related to power to prohibit the use of funds of an unlawful association and the Section 8 is related to power to notify places used for the purpose of an unlawful association.
While declaring the TeH outlawed for five years, the home ministry had said it was fomenting militancy and spreading anti-India propaganda in the Union Territory.
The objective of the TeH is to separate Jammu and Kashmir from India and establish Islamic rule in Jammu and Kashmir, it said.
The group was founded by Geelani, who was succeeded by Masarat Alam Bhat. Bhat is also known for his anti-India and pro-Pakistan propaganda. Bhat is currently in jail.
Bhat’s outfit Muslim League Jammu Kashmir, which he heads, was also declared a banned organisation by the government for its involvement in anti-national and secessionist activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
The home ministry had said the outfit and its members are involved in anti-national activities in Jammu and Kashmir, supporting militant activities. — (PTI)