SRINAGAR: The owner-cum-editor of a little-known local English newspaper, “Kashmir Reader”, Mohammad Hayat Bhat of Pampore , Pulwama district , appeared at the NIA’s Delhi headquarters on Tuesday for questioning in connection with a terror funding case, official sources said.

The NIA had summoned Hayat Bhat, also known as Haji Hayat, last week. The questioning was still on, the officials added.

“Kashmir Reader” was launched in 2012 by Bhat, who ran a small advertising agency called “Helpline Advertising Agency” with aid from some other country, official sources claimed.

Bhat got the Srinagar Municipal Corporation hoarding installation contract for government advertisements for 10 years, at about 150 places across Srinagar, for a meagre amount in 2007, said a municipal corporation official.

A senior NIA official claimed Bhat has “close connections” to terror outfit Lashkar-e-Taiba and has hired known “jihadi journalists” to write for his newspaper. These “jihadi journalists” now happen to be executive members of the Kashmir Press Club as well, the official added.

The agency, according to sources, is examining the creation of a group called “Kashmir Editors’ Guild” by a few “editors”. It fears that the guild is the creation of an ISI media cell based in Rawalpindi .

Kashmir journalists’ bodies deny TOI report

Kashmir Press Club, Kashmir Working Journalist Association (KWJA) and Kashmir Journalists’ Association (KJA) have described as “insinuating” a report published in TOI edition dated July 19 about the editor of Kashmir Reader, Mohammad Hayat Bhat, appearing at National Investigation Agency’s Delhi headquarters on Tuesday (July 16) for questioning in connection with a terror funding case. According to the report, a senior NIA official had claimed that Bhat has “close connections” with Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Kashmir Press Club said in a press release that "the story is baseless" and "full of insinuations against unnamed executive members of the club".

KWJA and KJA said in a statement that the report maligned and endangered the journalist fraternity of Kashmir and institutions like Kashmir Press Club, Kashmir Editors Guild and Kashmir Reader.

TOI reporter Saleem Pandit responds

The story is based on the information provided by top police functionaries. It is a fact that NIA started questioning Mohammad Hayat Bhat at its Delhi headquarters on Tuesday and the interrogation continued till Friday. There was no personal bias against any person or institution in the report. The allegations levelled against TOI are frivolous.

(This story has been updated with reactions from journalist bodies in Kashmir and the TOI reporter's response.)

