Hurriyat groups to be banned under UAPA

Highlights

• This decision was taken after the National Investigation Agency (NIA) found that outfits linked with the Hurriyat raised money to fund terror in Jammu and Kashmir.

• According to the officials, NIA was probing into MBBS seats being allotted to Kashmiri students by institutions in Pakistan. It was found that money collected from aspirants by some outfits was diverted for terror activities in J&K.

• This became a sufficient ground for banning the Hurriyat factions under Section 3(1) of the UAPA.

About the Hurriyat Group

Hurriyat Organisation came into existence in 1993. It was an organisation of 26 groups. It also comprised the People's Conference and Awami Action Committee. In the year 2005, it got diving into two factions-

1. Moderate group- it was led by Mirwaiz and

2. Hardline- it was headed by Geelani

National Investigation Agency (NIA)

NIA is counter-terrorist task force in India. It is empowered to deal with terror related crimes without requiring any special permission from the states. It was established under the enactment National Investigation Agency Act, 2008 by the Parliament on December 31, 2008 in the aftermath 26/11 terror attack in Mumbai. It is headquartered in New Delhi along with branches in Guwahati. Hyderabad, Lucknow, Kochi, Mumbai, Kolkata, Raipur and Jammu. It also maintains a NIA Most Wanted list.

Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA)

UAPA is an Indian law which was enacted with the aim of preventing unlawful activities associations in India. Main objective of UAPA was to make powers available to deal with activities against the integrity and sovereignty of India.