Srinagar: In a major offensive against militants operating from Pakistan, the National Investigation Agency on Thursday attached the house of Mushtaq Zargar, one of the three militants released as part of the 1999 Kandahar IC-814 aircraft hijack prisoner swap.
The house of Zargar, the founder and chief commander of Al-Umar-Mujahideen, was attached in Srinagar’s Nowhatta area this morning under the stringent provisions of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.
“Zargar’s two Marlas house (Khasra No. 182) at Ganai Mohalla, Jamia Masjid, Nowhatta, Srinagar, has been attached under the provisions of UA(P)A. The procedure was carried out today by a team of NIA along with the representative of district administration and local police,” NIA spokesperson said.
A notice of attachment was posted on the house of Zargar.
In April 2022, the ministry of home affairs (MHA) designated Zargar, as a ‘Designated Individual Terrorist’ .
NIA said Zargar has been operating from Pakistan ever since his release in 1999 and has been funding terror activities in the valley.
Zargar, having the nickname ‘Latram’, was arrested on May 15, 1992 and later released in 1999, along with Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Masood Azhar and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen chief Sheikh Omar. They were exchanged for passengers of hijacked Indian Airlines plane IC-814 in 1999 in Afghanistan’s Kandahar city.
NIA said Zargar was also involved in the kidnapping of former union Home Minister, Mufti Mohammad Sayeed’s daughter, Rubaiya Sayeed in 1989.
“In 1989 he was one of the members who kidnapped Rubaiya Sayeed, and negotiated her release in exchange of five terrorists,” NIA said.
Zargar grew up in Nowhatta area of Srinagar and joined the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front.
“Zargar was earlier associated with the Jammu & Kashmir Liberation Front and was responsible for several terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir. He has also been involved in other heinous crimes, including murders, and has close association with other terror outfits such as Al-Qaeda and JeM,” NIA said .
