Omar blames Mehbooba Mufti for NIA summons to Mirwaiz Umar Farooq

National Conference vice president Omar Abdullah on Saturday blamed People's Democratic Party chief Mehbooba Mufti for the National Investigation Agency (NIA) summons to separatist Mirwaiz Umar Farooq in the terror funding case. “Again it was during her tenure that NIA registered a case against Mirwaiz and is now issuing summons to him for questioning,” Omar told reporters on the side-lines on a party convention in Kupwara. Mirwaiz on Friday was served a third notice by the NIA to appear before the agency in New Delhi.

The NIA had first summoned Mirwaiz on March 11, asking him to appear before it in a terror-funding probe in which several separatist leaders have already been arrested. Mirwaiz, however, said he was willing to be examined by the NIA, but urged that the questioning be held in Srinagar due to life threats he is receiving.  

The NIA has said that letterheads of Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jamat-ud-Dawa, Hizbul Mujahideen and other organisations are among various "significant evidences" that the National Investigation Agency (NIA) says are enough to book top separatist leaders, including Mirwaiz Umar Farooq, news agency IANS had reported. 

Mirwaiz’s counsel in his written response to the NIA said, “My client has serious concerns about his safety. The security (Z plus category) provided earlier to your knowledge, was withdrawn unilaterally, for reasons too well known.”

“Your attention is invited to some of the distressing comments which have appeared in the mainstream print media since the news of his summons to New Delhi. There are open calls for his assassination…. Having regard to the comments, merely stating in the notice that security will be provided appears to be perfunctory observation,” the response said.

 The NIA had questioned two maternal uncles of the Mirwaiz - Maulvi Manzoor and Maulvi Shafat - and his close aides last year. Both Manzoor and Shafat are retired senior government officers.