Srinagar: Delhi High court on Thursday granted bail to Kashmiri businessman, Zahoor Watali in funding case.

“Delhi HC grants bail to Kashmiri businessman Zahoor Watali, one of the accused in J&K terror funding case. He has to furnish a personal bail bond of Rs 2 lakh rupees with two surety of same amount & submit his passport,” ANI reported.

Watali has been lodged in Tihar jail Delhi since his arrest in August 2017.

Many Hurriyat leaders and activists are languishing in Tihar jail since their arrest last year in the same case after NIA registered at least two FIRs.

Watali had challenged the trial court’s June 8 order rejecting his bail plea.

He was arrested on August 17, 2017, and was charge-sheeted by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) on January 18 along with Pakistan-based Hafiz Saeed, Syed Salahuddin, seven Kashmiri pro-freedom leaders and others in the case of alleged terror funding in the Kashmir Valley.

They were charge-sheeted under stringent anti-terror laws for “hatching  conspiracy with Saeed and Salahuddin to wage a war against India” to secede Jammu and Kashmir.

The pro-freedom leaders, who were arrested on July 24, 2017, are Altaf Ahmad Shah, Shahid-ul-Islam, Ayaz Akbar, Farooq Ahmad Dar alias Bitta Karate, Nayeem Khan, Raja Mehrajuddin Kalwal and Bashir Ahmad Bhat alias Peer Saifullah.

Another, Kashmiri pro-freedom leader, Shabir Shah is also languishing in Tihar jail, Delhi after he was arrested by ED on July 25, 2017.

Two sons of Salahudin, Syed Shahid and Syed Shakeel are also in Tihar jail after they were arrested on same kinds of charges.