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

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

The individuals are accused of roles ranging from recruitment, training, infiltration and logistics support to financing, arms supply, drone-based weapons delivery and planning or facilitating terror attacks in India.

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

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (37 of 1967) empowers the central government to add the name of an individual as 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 their finances, impose embargo on arms sales, and seize their assets.

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

The Centre has added Jaish-e-Mohamed terrorists Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, Mohammad 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 Adbul Rauf, Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Khalid Waleed, Maulana Saifullah Khalid, Mohammad Yaqoob, Molana Yousaf Taibi, Owais Farooz, Qari Yaqub Sheikh, Rana Iftikhar, Mohammed Shaheed Faisal (also linked to Al Qaeda and ISIS) have also been added to the list.

(With inputs from PTI)