VIVEK SHARMA
JAMMU: The conviction of Asiya Andrabi, the burqa clad Kashmiri secessionist with a soft-terror background along with her close associates Sofi Fehmeeda and Nahida Nasreen, marks a significant moment in holding organised separatist mobilisation legally accountable.
Asiya Andrabi emerged as a most notorious force behind prolonged unrest in Kashmir, particularly during the 2010 strife that brought daily life to a standstill for months. While radicalised street urchins, politicians describe as misguided youth, occupied the streets, intelligence agencies believed that Asiya Andrabi operated quietly through a wide women-led network spread across villages and neighbourhoods. Alongside separatist leader Masarat Alam, she is believed to have helped turn sporadic protests into sustained and organised so-called agitation.
Born in Srinagar to a conservative family, Asiya’s father, Ghulam Nabi Andrabi, was a government employee, while her mother was a homemaker. Her early life showed no overt political leanings. However, her personal and ideological journey took a decisive turn after her marriage in 1990 to Ashiq Hussain Faktoo, a founding member of the banned terrorist organisation Hizbul Mujahideen. Faktoo has been in prison since 1992 after being convicted in a murder case, and his terrorist background is widely seen as having shaped Andrabi’s deepening involvement in separatist and Jihadi ideology.
Despite being academically qualified, with a science degree and a postgraduate qualification in Arabic, Asiya Andrabi chose activism over a professional career. In the late 1980s, she founded Dukhtaran-e-Millat (DeM), initially presented as a religious platform for women. Over time, the organisation evolved into a radical outfit openly advocating the separation of Jammu and Kashmir from India. It later functioned as the women’s arm of the broader separatist and Jihadi ecosystem aligned with the Hurriyat Conference and was eventually banned by the Government of India.
Her influence became most evident during the 2010 unrest, when agencies say DeM’s women operatives were used to mobilise crowds, spread messages, arrange logistics and sustain protests even as security forces attempted to restore order. Andrabi repeatedly used speeches, writings and videos to promote resistance, religious rigidity and open defiance of the Indian state.
She often courted controversy. In 2015, she hoisted the Pakistani flag and sang its national anthem in Srinagar, leading to fresh cases against her. Later that year, she released a video slaughtering a cow to provoke tensions after the beef ban in the then state.
In April 2018, Andrabi was arrested in Anantnag district while allegedly planning large-scale demonstrations and stone-pelting. Acting on directions from the Union Home Ministry, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) took over the case and charged her with running a banned terrorist organisation, conspiring to wage war against India and seeking support from proscribed terror groups.
The special court has now convicted Andrabi and her two associates under key provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, including conspiracy and membership of a terrorist organisation, as well as under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for promoting hatred, disturbing public harmony and plotting against the nation. All three were present in court when the verdict was pronounced amid tight security. The matter will be taken up on January 17 for hearing on the quantum of sentence, which could extend to life imprisonment.
Investigators have also pointed to Andrabi’s extended family links abroad. While she remained active in Kashmir, several relatives lived in Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, the United Kingdom and Malaysia. One of her nephews is reported to be an officer in the Pakistan Army, while another works as an aeronautical engineer and academic in Islamabad. Her two sons have largely stayed away from public political activity; one having lived abroad for a period, and the other pursuing his education in Srinagar.
Often described as ideologically more rigid than even senior separatists, Asiya Andrabi turned women into active participants in street agitation and ideological mobilisation. With this conviction, a long chapter of organised separatist influence has reached a legal conclusion.
Finally, terror meets justice in Kashmir. Asiya Andrabi, has been convicted by a court outside the strife-torn Jammu and Kashmir. This time, the verdict was based on clear and credible evidence-unlike several earlier cases within the Union Territory where even hardened terrorists walked free due to weak prosecution. On one such occasion, a court had passed strong remarks against the prosecuting agency for failing to prove charges despite the accused being visibly involved in terror activities.
The verdict sends a clear message: sustained separatism, even when cloaked in ideology and mobilisation, will ultimately face justice when pursued with evidence and resolve. (The inputs taken from various agencies on Internet)
