Claiming the arrest of Raja Mohideen, Srinagar-based editor of a local news agency, was a setback to pro-Pakistan Hizbul Mujahideen, security agencies on Saturday alleged he had been getting funds for the militant outfit through hawala channels.

Ghulam alias Raja Mohideen, editor of Kashmir Press Service, had allegedly been receiving funds for the outfit sent by Pakistan's Inter Services Intelligence through hawala channels since 1997, they said.

He was arrested in Delhi on Friday after he allegedly received Rs 650,000 from a hawala dealer.

Mohideen was earlier picked by security agencies in September 2001 on the Indo-Pak border at Wagah in Punjab while returning from Pakistan on a regular visa but was let off after interrogation, they said.

Mohideen had on several occasions, on behalf of the militant outfit, claimed responsibility for acts of violence in the Kashmir valley, they said.

He will be produced in a Delhi court later in the day and is likely to be charged under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA).