More trouble:A file photo of NIA personnel raiding a Hurriyat leader’s house in Budgam recently.special arrangement  

The United Jehad Council (UJC), a PoK-based conglomerate of militants, said on Thursday that it will support Hurriyat on the dialogue process with New Delhi.

“They [the militants] are with the Kashmir leadership if they start a dialogue process. Since India is not sincere, we have decided to lay down three conditions,” UJC chief Syed Salahuddin told a press conference in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The three conditions were that India should declare Jammu and Kashmir a disputed territory; acknowledge that there are three parties to the dispute; and accept that Kashmir issue will be resolved in the light of the United Nations resolutions in accordance with the aspirations of the Kashmiris.

Salahuddin, who heads the Hizbul Mujahideen, alleged that India, in the name of dialogue, had always committed fraud. “When there were no options, the youth of Kashmir took to arms. Under the present circumstances, armed struggle remains the only way out as India is eager to change the Muslim demography of J&K.”

The statement is significant as the Hurriyat is finding the going tough in the wake of the Centre appointing Dineshwar Sharma as its interlocutor for J&K. Mr. Sharma is visiting Kashmir next week.

NIA raids

Meanwhile, sleuths of the National Investigation Agency (NIA) raided the houses of Salahuddin’s sons in central Kashmir’s Budgam district on Thursday.

An NIA official said it carried out searches at the house of Shahid Yousuf, who remains in the NIA’s custody at Soibugh in central Kashmir. “The NIA seized five mobiles, two hard discs, one laptop, incriminating documents and some electronic devices,” said the official. He was sent on a seven-day NIA custody by a court in New Delhi on Wednesday. A police official said the premises of another son of the Hizb chief were also searched.