‘Asiya had key role in closure of cinemas in Kashmir Valley’: NIA

New Delhi: Dukhtaran-e-Millat chief Asiya Andrabi had played a major role in closure of cinemas in Kashmir Valley, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said in a charge-sheet filed in the terror funding case. Andrabi was involved in terror funding and other secession activities since 1987, it said. “Andrabi started protests and raised slogans against the display of pictures of women without burkha in cinema halls. Dukhtaran-e-Millat splashed black ink on pictures of women without burkha,” NIA said. Other militant groups supported her and announced through pamphlets that those who didn’t obey the order would be punished with bullets, the NIA added.

By January 1990, all 15 operational cinema halls were shut in Kashmir. Andrabi’s husband Ashiq Hussain Faktoo alias Mohammed Qasim is serving life-term in J&K jail for killing H.N. Wanchoo, a Kashmiri Pandit, the agency said. On October 4, the NIA filed a second supplementary charge-sheet in the terror funding case under the new Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act against J&K Liberation Front (JKLF) chief Yasin Malik, founder chief of the J&K Democratic Freedom Party Shabir Shah, Asiya Andrabi, All-Party Hurriyat Conference General Secretary Masarat Alam and former legislator Rashid Engineer. Andrabi had caught public attention in May 2015, when she criticised Bollywood superstar Salman Khan for advocating re-opening of cinemas.(IANS)

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