Farooq Abdullah drops another bombshell, says Centre funded Hurriyat and Kashmir paid the price

Former Jammu & Kashmir Chief Minister Dr Farooq Abdullah on Monday made another controversial statement when he said Hurriyat leaders had been funded by the Centre for a period of time, which eventually led to the marginalisation of nationalist parties from the Valley.

Abdullah’s statement comes in the wake of arrests made by the NIA in the valley. Those arrested NIA claims were recipient funds from Pakistan which they used to fund protests across the valley. The Centre has taken a tough stand on this issue and sources said that government intends to squeeze dry the financial channels which are being used to fuel protests in Kashmir.

Speaking to DNA, Abdullah added that the arrests would reveal the extent of their involvement in influencing terror activities in Kashmir. "Even we'd get to see the extent of their involvement. Everyone in the Valley will get to know from where the money came and how was it put to use," Abdullah said.

Claiming that he had seen the funding in close quarters, Abdullah said that the brunt of funding was incurred by his party which does not receive foreign donations. He also accused other political parties of receiving funds from abroad.

Standing by his statements that the United States could aid India in kickstarting talks with Pakistan over the situation in the Valley, Abdullah added that Members of Parliament should regularly visit Jammu & Kashmir in order to initiate dialogue with its residents. He also disagreed with Chief Minister Mehbooba Mufti’s remarks that foreign aid would turn Kashmir into another Syria.