Hindustan Times (Chandigarh)

Parra was asset of Pak terror groups

The PDP leader is alleged to have built a nexus with terrorists for seeking support from them for political gains

- Press Trust India letterschd@hindustant­imes.com

NEW DELHI: Senior Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) leader Waheed-ur-rehman Parra, a close aide of former Jammu and Kashmir chief minister Mehbooba Mufti, was an asset for Pakistan-based terror groups and his 13 years’ journey from 2007 as a journalist and politician was a “saga of subterfuge, deceit and double dealing”, alleges a police chargeshee­t against him.

Parra is alleged to have establishe­d a nexus with terrorists for seeking support from them for political gains and reciprocat­ed it by providing a range of help and support which led to terror strikes.

With the help of five protected witnesses and technical intelligen­ce, the Criminal Investigat­ion Kashmir (CIK), a wing of the CID department, submitted a chargeshee­t before an NIA court recently alleging that Parra was hand-in-glove with terrorists to further the agenda of Pakistan-based terror groups and also to ensure that his political adversarie­s are neutralise­d.

The 19-page chargeshee­t, with hundreds of pages of annexures, has given instances of his targeted attempts to eliminate political opponents and to help his party leaders by paying terror groups to swing the electoral battle in his party’s favour.

His lawyer has denied all these charges during various court proceeding­s related to his bail and custodial pleas, and claimed that his client, who won the district developmen­t council elections last year, was being made a political scapegoat. The chargeshee­t highlighte­d his links to Pakistantr­ained Abu Dujana and Abu Qassim, who were killed in separate encounters with security forces, and went on to allege that he used to meet them personally as well as through overground workers. The chargeshee­t alleged that a forced marriage between a girl and dreaded Pakistani terrorist Abu Dujana had his “blessings”.

The police have tracked his journey from 2007 when he went to Pakistan and interviewe­d banned Hizbul Mujahideen’s chief Syed Salahuddin and broadcast it on his local media channel which was being operated from Pulwama.

In March this year, Parra was chargeshee­ted by the NIA and it was alleged that he had paid ₹5 crore to the son-in-law of Hurriyat Conference leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani for keeping Kashmir in turmoil after the death of Burhan Wani in 2016.

 ??  ?? PDP leader Waheed Parra
PDP leader Waheed Parra

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