Hurriyat leader Altaf Shah denies NIA claim of receiving money from Waheed Para, says ‘charges fabricated

Srinagar: Incarcerated Hurriyat leader Altaf Ahmad Shah has ridiculed the National Investigation Agency’s claim that Peoples Democratic Party leader Waheed Parra paid money to him.

In a telephonic conversation with his wife from Tihar, Altaf Ahmad has expressed anger and anguish over the news and denied the allegation of taking Rs Five Crore.

In the telephonic message released for the press, Altaf Ahmad said that such ‘ridiculous statements’ are nothing but an attempt at his character assassination.

“While the other Hurriyat leaders also continue to be lodged in Tihar, over false accusations of receiving money from Pakistan,” he said “NIA was contradicting their previous claims and if the Government of India had any evidence to prove the charges, the case would not have lingered in court for four years without even framing of charges.”

“They are well aware that the charges stand no ground in the court. Fabricated charge sheets of thousands of pages cannot be proven. The delaying tactics of the state are well known.”

On the India-Pakistan talks, Shah said: “We encourage a fruitful dialogue between Kashmir, India, and Pakistan and support any steps taken to solve the dispute peacefully”.

Last week, NIA said that Parra got in touch with Altaf Ahmad Shah and asked him to ensure that the ‘Valley was kept on the boil’.

The NIA has alleged that PDP youth leader Waheed-ur-Rahman Parra paid rupees 5 crore to the son-in-law of senior Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for keeping Kashmir in turmoil after the death of Hizb Commander Burhan Wani in 2016.

In an exhaustive charge sheet recently filed in a special court in Jammu, the National Investigation Agency accused Parra, who was arrested last November, of being involved with militant groups like Hizbul Mujahideen and Lashker-e-Taiba.

The NIA alleged that after the death of Wani, who was killed in a military operation in July 2016, Parra got in touch with Altaf Ahmad Shah and asked him to ensure that the ‘Valley was kept on the boil with widespread unrest and stone pelting’.

However, Parra, through his lawyer, has been denying these charges and claimed he was arrested for ‘political reasons.’ (Agency)