The Centre is mulling banning both factions of the Hurriyat under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The group has been spearheading the Kashmir separatist movement since 1993. The ban will allow security agencies to arrest any office bearer for being associated with the Hurriyat, and block flow of funds.
This comes after a recent investigation into the allegations of granting of MBBS seats to Kashmiri students by Pakistani institutions indicated that the money collected from the aspirants by some organisations which were part of the Hurriyat Conference conglomerate was being used for funding terror organisations in the union territory. “Both the factions of the Hurriyat are likely to be banned under Section 3(1) of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA, under which “if the Central Government is of opinion that any association is, or has become, an unlawful association, it may, by notification in the Official Gazette, declare such association to be unlawful,” officials said. According to sources in the Union Home Ministry, while discussions to declare both the hardline and moderate factions of the Hurriyat as “unlawful association” have started, file movement in this regard is yet to begin. The hardline faction is currently led by Ashraf Sehrai, and the moderate faction by Mirwaiz Umar Farooq. However, this is the first time since 1993 that the organisation has been banned. Nearly two years after abrogation of Article 370, the Centre is likely to go ahead with the ban.
