NEW DELHI, Feb 7: Two Kashmiri activists of All Parties Hurriyat Conference (APHC), arrested on charges of taking money from the Pakistan High Commission in New Delhi, were ordered by an anti-terrorist court to 10-days in police custody on Friday even as the incident appeared to mark a new low in the tense India-Pakistan ties.

Delhi Police had arrested Zamrud Habib, a woman APHC activist, reportedly from near the Pakistan mission on Thursday with about Rs300,000.

Later, on her alleged instigation, police picked up Shabbir Ahmed Dar, the APHC spokesman in New Delhi from his office in a middle-class locality.

Both are believed to have denied taking money from the Pakistan High Commission although news reports said the first information report (FIR) had named Pakistan’s Acting High Commissioner Jaleel Abbas Jilani as the person who gave Ms Habib a bag containing the money, allegedly for APHC chairman Abdul Ghani Bhatt.

“If the news about my name appearing in the FIR is correct, then this marks a new trend in the harassment of our officials,” said a livid Jilani. “Our advice is that it is not in India’s interest to take the cue on India-Pakistan ties from the Delhi Police.”

The Delhi Police works directly under the home ministry headed by Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishan Advani. Junior Home Minister I.D. Swami told reporters the matter was being investigated by his ministry and a report would be sent to the foreign ministry for appropriate action.

Mr Jilani said he was touched by an endless bevy of callers from the media as well as official and political quarters expressing their solidarity with him. A former foreign secretary had said on Thursday that it was difficult to believe that the head of mission could be personally involved in handing out dubious money.

The Jammu and Kashmir police on Friday raided Ms Habib’s residence in Anantnag and office at Rajbagh. The police said the raids had produced ‘incriminating documents’.

Ms Habib, in brief remarks to a TV reporter at the court, said she was innocent.

APHC chairman Bhatt said in Srinagar: “We have nothing to do with it... One should not pay any attention towards such talks.”

He said that the money came from the people of Kashmir, ‘who give their blood for the cause’.

“We don’t know whether money comes from Pakistan or not. You should ask those people who have been arrested about this,” he said.

Mr Bhatt said that the APHC was thinking of closing its office in Delhi following the arrest of its office bearers and added that a decision in this regard would be taken shortly.

Ms Habib, reportedly admitted before Special Judge S.N. Dhingra that she had received the money from Pakistan High Commission to be paid as “Nazrana” (gift) to Bhatt.

Demanding police remand of the accused, the prosecution was quoted as saying that police had also recovered a diary from her containing names of various militant outfits operating in India and the amount of money to be paid to each.

The accused, who went inside the embassy empty-handed, had returned with a bag, the police claimed.

Ms Habib’s interrogation had apparently led to Dar, who was arrested from the office of the Kashmir Awareness Bureau in South Delhi. A computer, besides some literature on the composition of Hurriyat and cassettes, was also recovered from the office.

A list with names of militants, including Pakistani ones lodged in Tihar, was recovered from the office, the prosecution claimed. It added an amount of Rs215,000 was seized from Dar’s home.

Asked about the list, Dar said the APHC may have maintained such records for “political purposes”. Claiming that his job was to interact with the various embassies in the Capital, he said he also dealt with missions of United States and some other countries.