Pak man comes under Indian govt radar for funding anti-India activities

Houston: The Indian-American community here has welcomed the reported move of the Indian authorities to track the activities of a Houston-based Pakistani event manager for allegedly funding anti-India activities in the US.
The community members said they have repeatedly raised, with both the foreign and the union home ministries, the issue of Rehan Siddiqui, who organises Bollywood galas in the US, raising funds from his events for perpetrating activities against India in America. However, they said, nothing was being done and what irked them most was Siddiqui’s continuing event bookings with Bollywood stars and singers. Now, with the Pakistani national coming under the Indian government’s radar, the Indian-American community said they are “relieved”. “You can’t allow any anti-India activities go unnoticed for long and this promoter (Siddiqui) was under investigation for a long time, but results take time,” official sources said. According to reports, Indian authorities are tracking the activities of Siddiqui, who is also a radio station owner, in the US.
Some well-connected Indian community members alleged the Pakistani national was using huge funds to finance anti-Kashmir activities for the last several years. His activities, they claimed, gained further momentum after the abrogation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. Navan D Kaur, a community member, alleged that Siddiqui helped to organise an anti-India rally during the “Howdy Modi” event here last September.
A prominent Indian-American community activist told PTI, “The Indian community in Houston is relieved to know that Rehan finally caught the attention of the Indian government for his alleged connection with the Pakistani security agencies and we thank the Indian government for investigating his years of anti-India activities here.”
Rajiv Verma, a community activist, said Siddiqui became a “darling” of the Bollywood due to his monopoly over Indian media and the entertainment sector in Houston. Siddiqui, he said, is making money off the Indian diaspora’s fascination for film stars and is using his prosperity to attack the country in return. Arun Mundra, a global community leader associated with various Indian-American organisations, said, “Patriotism and humanity is our top priority. (PTI)