MHA designates 23 Pakistan-based individuals as ‘terrorists’ under UAPA

The Union Home Ministry has designated 23 persons associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Resistance Front (TRF) as terrorists under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

The men are accused of roles ranging from recruitment, training, infiltration and logistical support to financing, arms supply, drone delivery and planning or facilitating terrorist attacks in India.

The appointments, notified in a government order, relate, among others, to the attack on security forces in Sunjwan, Jammu on April 22, 2022 and the attack on the Indian Army camp in Nagrota, Jammu on November 29, 2016.

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act 1967 (37/1967) gives the central government the power to add the name of an individual as a designated terrorist if it believes that the individual is involved in terrorism.

Including the names of terrorists in the list will allow the National Investigation Agency (NIA) to block the finances of these terrorists, embargo their arms sales and seize their assets.

In 2019, the anti-terrorism law was amended to include individual terrorists in the list. Before the change, only groups could be listed as terrorist organizations.

The Center added Jaish-e-Mohammad terrorists Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, Muhammad Mussadiq alias Doctor, Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan alias Abu Saad, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor alias Qari Zarrar, Abdullah Jehadi, Ghulam Fareed, Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki and Waseem Noor Jat.

Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists Firdous Ahmad Bhat, Haroon Rashid Ganai, Bilal Ahmad Mir, Abid Quyoom Lone Nazir Ahmed Gujjar, Abdul Rauf alias Hafiz Abdul Rauf, Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Khalid Waleed, Maulana Saifullah Khalid, Mohammad Yaqoob, Molana Yousaf Taibi, Owais Farooz, Qari Yaqub List Sheikh, Rana Iftikhar, Mohammed Martyr Faisal (also affiliated with Al Qaeda and ISIS) was also added.

(With inputs from PTI)