- Friday, April 19, 2024
By: Shubham Ghosh
INDIA’S National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Sunday (3) carried out searches at nine places in Union Territory Jammu and Kashmir in its ongoing probe related to a large-scale transfer of funds from Pakistan to India through import of California Almonds through trade routes crossing the Line of Control (LoC), the agency said.
The NIA, with the assistance of the local police, Central Reserve Police Force and Indo-Tibetan Border Police, conducted the searches at the premises of suspected LoC traders in J&K’s Poonch district in connection to the case.
During the searches, the NIA also seized various documents, digital devices and other incriminating materials.
The NIA filed a first information report (FIR) in December 2016 and started an investigation after India’s home ministry’s order that came in the same month based on input regarding terror funding taking place through cross-LoC trade routes.
The almonds’ import was facilitated via cross-LoC trade facilitation centres (TFCs) located in Salamabad and Uri in Baramulla and Chakkan-Da-Bagh in Poonch districts.
Considering violation of the policy of the prohibition of trade in ‘third-party foreign goods’ through this mechanism and that the money was being used for fomenting terrorism and separatism in J&K, the NIA registered the case under Section 17 of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
The Indian government had received information about a large-scale transfer of funds from Pakistan to India through the import of the almonds via the cross-LOC Trade TFC located in Salamabad and Chakkan-Da-Bagh.
The LoC trade was started in 2008 as part of a confidence-building measure between J&K and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir and was based on a barter system. Third-party origin goods were not allowed.
In 2017, the NIA questioned several government employees posted at TFC in the Uri area but the officials did not divulge details on whether the sleuths could find anything incriminating.
The NIA believes a percentage of profits made through cross border trade is used to fund militants in Kashmir Valley.
