New Delhi, Mar 19 (IANS): A National Investigation Agency (NIA) court has framed charges against Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, Hizbul Mujahideen chief Syed Salahuddin and others under various sections of UAPA in connection with a terror funding case.

Kashmiri separatist leaders including Yasin Malik, Shabbir Shah, Masarat Alam, former MLA Rashid Engineer, businessman Zahoor Ahmad Shah Watali, Bitta Karate, Aftab Ahmad Shah, Avatar Ahmad Shah, Naeem Khan, Bashir Ahmed Bhat, alias Peer Saifullah and several others have also been framed charges for criminal conspiracy, waging war against the country and other unlawful activities.

In the order dated March 16, the NIA special Judge Praveen Singh said: "The above analysis reflects that the statements of witnesses and documentary evidence have connected almost all the accused with each other and to a common object of secession, to the commonality of means they were to use, their close association to terrorist/terrorist organisations under the guiding hand and funding of Pakistani establishment."

Notably, the court has discharged three namely Kamran Yusuf, Javed Ahmad Bhatt and Syedah Aasiya Firdous Andrabi.

The case related to the various terrorist outfits Lashkar-e-Taiba(LeT), Hizb-ul-Mujahideen (HM), Jammu and Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) backed by Islamic State were perpetrated terrorist and secessionist activities that disturbed the state of Jammu and Kashmir.