Jammu and Kashmir Tourism Department hired Anees ul Islam in the year 2016 as their Research Officer for Sher-i-Kashmir International Convention Center (SKICC). However, he was sacked by the administration over the weekend. He had been appointed despite his family background as a secessionist and their role in the 2016 violent protests and agitation in Kashmir, more commonly known as the Burhan Wani agitation, which resulted in more than 100 deaths and millions of dollars in damage.
CNN-News18 has accessed a lengthy file on Anees and the Geelani family, excerpts of which were published on Tuesday. The 2016 agitation was led by Jamaat-e-Islami and the All Parties Hurriyat Conference, an amalgam of secessionists. They have stated their intention to separate Jammu and Kashmir from India and merge it with Pakistan. Altaf Ahmad Shah (alias Altaf Fantosh) was Anees’ father, and Syed Ali Shah Geelani was her maternal grandfather.
A staunch supporter of terrorism and separatism, Anees’ family members have proven culpable in abetting and facilitating terror-related activities several times. ‘In simple terms, Anees and his family have always been at the forefront of anti-India activities in the Kashmir valley. In Kashmir, dozens of people have been killed in violent protests at the command of family members’, CNN-News18 exclusively learned in a dossier obtained by CNN.
Geelani family’s terror conspiracy dossier
The dossier reveals that three family members of Anees are actively involved in secessionist activities and terrorism. In addition to being an original founder member of Islam-e-Islami Jamat-e-Tulba (IJT) J&K, father of Anees served as its Nazim-e-Zilla (general commander) Srinagar. Eventually, with his ‘deep-rooted connections’ in Jamat-e-Islami, he became an executive member of his father-in-law’s Tehreek-i-Hurriyat. Anees’ father Altaf Ahmed Shah is currently being held at the Tihar Jail for a terror funding case against him.
In addition to patronizing Hizbul Mujahideen, a globally designated terror group, Jamat-e-Islami foments and sustains terrorism in the valley through multiple cutouts. The Jamaat practices violence through its armed wing, Hizbul Mujahideen, to secede from India. However, all the valley-based groups mostly depend on the Jamaat and Hizbul for their local logistics, regardless of which group is responsible for the recent spike in violence. Jamat and Hizbul use coercion and fear to gain local support.
Anees ul Islam’s maternal grandfather, the head of the Tehreek-e-Hurriyat(G), was a hard-core secessionist, who publicly advocated the use of violence to secession from India and its merger with Pakistan. FIRs have been filed against him in over a hundred cases across J&K for hate speech, supporting violence and protests, delivering provocative speeches against the Indian establishment and security forces, and promoting terrorism. Since the repeal of Article. 370 in August 2019, Geelani has been sidelined as the face of violent separatism in Kashmir.
Terrorism Propaganda in Turkey
As per the accessed dossier, ‘Geelani’s granddaughter and the real sister of Anees is the multimedia heir of the separatist family. She writes for international publications and hosts a show broadcast by Salam Media in South Africa. It reiterated that Ruwa promotes false narratives against the Indian Government based on factually incorrect data. Born in Kashmir under the protection of state forces, Ruwa Shah shifted to Turkey to pursue an anti-India narrative,’ it stated. There are a large number of anti-India Kashmiri activists who have sought refuge in Turkey since 2015, and Turkey has become the epicenter of the narrative war against India. Ruwa Shah played the victim card all this time, while her brother enjoyed state patronage and the benefits of a government job in India. By making use of gullible platforms, Ruwa Shah spreads the ideas of her father and grandfather’.
Are intelligence agencies failing to act?
A family with such strong secessionist antecedents and proven involvement in violent incidents would not be able to enter government positions without the active support from within the system. Why haven’t the intelligence agencies raised any red flags? Sources confirmed that Anees before he was appointed to the government service, facilitated the use of drones for shooting law and order incidents and other events that could be used as content for anti-India propaganda by ISI.
‘Such activities of Anees indicate a hidden agenda of Anees, carried out at the behest of his family members who were at the forefront of fomenting terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir,’ said the dossier. Adding to the cloud of suspicion over Anees’ security is the fact that in 2008, the state intelligence apparatus (CID) recommended against his obtaining a passport. By taking advantage of the gaps and weaknesses in the system, Anees was able to secure a passport to visit foreign countries on the orders of the High Court of Jammu and Kashmir.
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Investigative agencies have found that it was a premeditated decision to give the government-funded public employment to Anees is evident from several facts including that there was no urgency of filling in the post which had been lying vacant since 2005 and no merit list, an absolute must in any selection proceeding, whatsoever, was prepared. ‘Right from the start, that is, at the time of advertising the post, the process was rigged by avoiding to notify the scheme of examination or criteria of deciding merit. This is another basic minimum norm which is invariably followed by any selection committee or body,’ the sources revealed.
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