NEW DELHI: In a major crackdown on terrorism, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday designated 23 individuals linked to Pakistan-based terrorist organisations as terrorists under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
With the latest notification, the total number of individuals designated as terrorists under the amended UAPA has risen to 80 since the law was amended in 2019 to allow the government to notify individuals, in addition to organisations, as terrorists.
Of the 23 individuals, 17 are Pakistani nationals, and six are Indian nationals. According to the MHA, all are currently operating from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
The MHA said the individuals are affiliated with banned terrorist organisations, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), The Resistance Front (TRF) and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF).
According to the MHA, they have been involved in planning and carrying out terror attacks, inciting violence, recruiting and radicalising youth, trafficking arms, facilitating cross-border infiltration, raising funds and supporting terrorist networks.
The 23 individuals designated as terrorists are Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, Mohammad Musadiq, Mufti Mohammad Asghar Khan, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor, Abdullah Jihadi, Firdous Ahmad Bhat, Ghulam Farid, Abid Qayoom Lone, Haroon Rashid Ganai, Bilal Ahmed Mir, Nazir Ahmed Gujjar, Abdul Rauf, Ashfaq Ahmed, Hafiz Khalid Walid, Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki, Maulana Saifullah Khalid, Mohammad Yaqoob, Maulana Yusuf Taibi, Owais Farooz, Qari Yaqub Sheikh, Rana Iftikhar, Wasim Noor Jat and Mohammad Shahid Faisal.
Soon after the notification, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said the government remained committed to eliminating terrorism. “Pursuing Modi Ji’s vision of zero tolerance against terror, the MHA today declared 23 dreaded terror functionaries as terrorists under the provisions of the UA(P)A. They are involved in anti-India activities, carrying out terror attacks, inciting terror, trafficking arms, infiltrating through the border, facilitating terrorist organisations, raising funds and recruiting terrorists,” Shah said in a post on X.
According to the MHA, Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior JeM functionary based in Rawalkot in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, has been involved in recruiting and training terrorists and facilitating their infiltration into India. He has also been linked to the April 22, 2022, terror attack on security forces at Sunjwan in Jammu.
Firdous Ahmad Bhat, an Indian national associated with LeT, is currently based in Pakistan. The MHA said he has facilitated the infiltration of foreign terrorists across the Line of Control and has been involved in supplying weapons and recruiting youth from south Kashmir after crossing into Pakistan through the Wagah border in 2018.
The MHA also designated Abdul Rauf alias Hafiz Abdul Rauf, a senior LeT leader active since 1999. Operating under LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, he is accused of mobilising international funding for the outfit through charitable organisations, including the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation and the Al-Madina Welfare Trust. He has also been designated as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist by the United States.
Another individual designated as a terrorist is Mohammad Shahid Faisal, also known as Ustad, Muhandis and Zakir. Originally from India and now based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, Faisal has links with LeT, Al-Qaeda and ISIS. The MHA described him as the mastermind behind the 2012 Bengaluru LeT conspiracy case and the 2013 Nanded conspiracy. Investigators have also linked him to the 2024 Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, the Mangaluru cooker blast and the Al-Hind ISIS module case. The MHA said he has been recruiting and radicalising youth through social media platforms, YouTube channels and encrypted messaging applications.