NIA attaches property of terrorist Mushtaq 'Latram' in Srinagar

Latram shot to fame in 1989 for his role in the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

In a major offensive against terrorists operating from Pakistan soil, authorities in Jammu and Kashmir on Thursday attached the house of fugitive terrorist Mushtaq Ahmad Zargar, alias Latram, in the Nowhatta area of Srinagar, officials said.

The notice of attachment was posted on the house by police personnel. Latram is reported to be living in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir.

The building, located on a plot measuring 540 square feet, was attached under the stringent Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, on orders from the Union Home Ministry.

Latram shot to fame in 1989 for his role in the abduction of Rubaiya Sayeed, daughter of the then Union Home Minister Mufti Mohammad Sayeed.

He made it to international headlines when he, along with Jaish chief Masood Azhar and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen chief Omar Saeed Sheikh, was released in exchange for a hijacked Indian Airlines plane in the Afghan city of Kandahar in 1999.

Zargar is a Kashmiri militant who was a member of the Jammu Kashmir Liberation Front (JKLF), a separatist group fighting for the independence of Kashmir from India. He was arrested in 1992 and charged with terrorism-related offenses. He was later released in 1994 as part of a prisoner exchange between India and the militant group Harkat-ul-Ansar, which had kidnapped a group of foreign tourists in Kashmir. After his release, Zargar traveled to Pakistan and reportedly became involved with the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba.

Zargar's activities and associations have made him a controversial figure, and his release from prison has been a topic of political debate in India. Some argue that he should be released as part of a peace process in Kashmir, while others argue that he should be held accountable for his past actions.