Terror funding case: Delhi court remands Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali to NIA custody for 10 days

New Delhi: A court in New Delhi on Friday allowed the NIA to quiz Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, arrested on charges of receiving funds from Pakistan to sponsor terror activities and stone-pelting in Kashmir, till 28 August. [caption id=“attachment_3942545” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] During the in-camera proceedings, District Judge Poonam Bamba remanded Watali to the National Investigation Agency’s (NIA) custody for 10 days. He was arrested on Thursday. In July, the agency arrested seven separatist leaders for their alleged involvement in Pakistan-funded unrest in the valley. Watali is known to be friends with Pakistani leaders as well as separatists, besides the mainstream politicians in Kashmir, the NIA said. Zahoor Watali is considered to be one of the top aides of pro-Pakistan separatist leader Syed Ali Shah Geelani. Watali, an influential Kashmiri businessman, is believed to be one of the Hurriyat’s top financers. Sources said Watali, who has been under the NIA scanner for nearly two months, was called for repeated questioning at the agency’s Delhi headquarters before his arrest.