2009 anti-India seminar case: DGP orders attachment of Mian Qayoom’s Srinagar house

Srinagar, Nov 12: Director General of Police (DGP) Nalin Prabhat on Wednesday ordered the attachment of the residential property of Advocate Mian Abdul Qayoom in Srinagar in connection with a 2009 case linked to an anti-India seminar attended by several separatist leaders.

According to the official order issued by the DGP, the action follows a detailed review of the investigation conducted by the Shaheed Gunj Police Station, which pertains to a seminar held on December 31, 2009, at Hotel Jahangir in Srinagar.

The event, organised to mark the death anniversary of the founder of Pakistan, Muhammad Ali Jinnah, was led by Feroz Ahmad Khan of the Muslim League and attended by prominent separatist figures, including Aasia Andrabi, Shabir Ahmad Najar, and Mian Abdul Qayoom, then president of the J&K High Court Bar Association.

Police records state that during the seminar, participants delivered inflammatory speeches, raised anti-India slogans, and advocated the secession of J&K.

Witness statements recorded during the investigation confirmed that the speakers attempted to “provoke the audience and disturb public peace and tranquility.”

The order further details that a search was conducted at Qayoom’s residence in Bulbul Bagh, Barzulla, Srinagar, after obtaining a warrant from a local magistrate.

The search, carried out in the presence of independent witnesses and an Executive Magistrate, reportedly led to the recovery of several incriminating items, including, banned literature, a Hizb-ul- Mujahideen letterhead bearing the group’s seal impression, a press-note-type document, a letter purportedly addressed by Hizb chief Syed Salahuddin to then US President Bill Clinton, and another seal impression of Hizb-ul-Mujahideen in Urdu.

Investigators concluded that the two-storey house and adjoining land, measuring over 2 kanal, had been used to conceal incriminating material and facilitate unlawful activities in violation of the law.

The property, registered under Mutation No 338 in Mian Qayoom’s name, has now been categorised as “proceeds of terrorism.” The DGP’s order authorises its attachment under the relevant provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) and the Criminal Law Amendment Ordinance.