An internal note circulated by a senior leader of the banned Jamaat-e-Islami (JeI) in the Kashmir valley has asked its cadres to be “peace-loving citizens” and “obey the law of the land”. JeI has faced multiple raids by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) since August.
“Hope all cadres belonging to the JeI, before the ban, obey the law of the land as peace-loving citizens, giving chance to the law enforcing agencies to take any action against them,” the note, accessed by The Hindu, reads.
It also stated: “The Jamaat before the ban was not involved in any illegal or unlawful activity whatsoever. It was a socio-religious organisation working since the Partition. It has always respected the law of the land as an organisation,” the note reads.
The JeI was banned in February 2019 as “an unlawful association” under Section 3 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 immediately after the Pulwama attack left 40 Central Reserve Police Force jawans dead in south Kashmir.
The NIA lodged a fresh case on February 5, 2021 “in connection with separatist and secessionist activities of the JeI”, and accused the members of “collecting funds domestically and abroad, which are being used for violent and secessionist activities”.
About 73 locations in 14 districts in J&K, where the outfit’s cadres live, were raided by the NIA in August and October.
