Examiner News Desk | Srinagar:
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated 23 Pakistan-based operatives linked to terror outfits, including Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as individual terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), citing their involvement in terrorism and anti-India activities, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The action, notified through three separate government notifications, targets individuals accused of recruiting militants, facilitating cross-border infiltration, financing terrorism, smuggling arms and ammunition, and providing logistical support for terror attacks in India.
According to the MHA, 11 of the 23 designated terrorists are natives of Jammu and Kashmir, while the remaining are Pakistani nationals. Of the J&K natives, seven are currently based in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) and four are residing in Pakistan.
The seven J&K natives based in PoK have been identified as Masood Ilyas Kashmiri (Rawalakot), Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan (Abbaspur), Hafiz Abdul Shakoor (Kotli), Abdullah Jehadi (Kundalshahi, Neelum), Ghulam Fareed (Bading, Bimber), Bilal Ahmad Mir of Sopore (Muzaffarabad), and Abid Qayoom Lone of Baramulla.
The four J&K natives currently residing in Pakistan are Haroon Rashid Ganai of Anantnag, Nazir Ahmed Gujjar of Doda, Owais Farooz Mir of Pulwama, and Mohammed Shaheed Faisal, originally from Bengaluru and now based in Rawalpindi.
With the latest notifications, the total number of individuals designated as terrorists under the UAPA has risen to 80. The provision to declare individuals as terrorists was introduced through an amendment to the Act in August 2019. Prior to the amendment, only organisations could be designated as terrorist entities.
Among those designated are three senior Jaish-e-Mohammad functionaries accused of playing key roles in terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.
Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior JeM operative based in PoK, has been designated for allegedly recruiting militants, imparting terror training and facilitating infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir. The MHA has also linked him to the April 22, 2022, terror attack on security forces at Sunjwan in Jammu.
Another JeM leader, Mohammad Mussadiq alias “Doctor”, has been identified as a key handler responsible for infiltrating Pakistani terrorists into India. The ministry alleged that he coordinated drone-based delivery of arms and ammunition across the border, planned terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, and managed JeM’s cyber network used for radicalisation and recruitment through social media. He has also been linked to the 2022 Sunjwan attack.
The MHA has also designated Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan alias Abu Saad, describing him as a launching commander for JeM militants operating in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been accused of masterminding the November 2016 terror attack on the Indian Army camp at Nagrota in Jammu.
The list further includes several senior Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders and close associates of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, including Abdul Rauf, Hafiz Khalid Waleed and Rana Iftikhar. The ministry has accused them of coordinating terrorist operations, recruiting operatives and motivating youth to join militant ranks.
The designation under the UAPA empowers security agencies, including the National Investigation Agency (NIA), to freeze the assets of the listed individuals, restrict their financial transactions and strengthen legal proceedings against them.
The MHA said the move is aimed at dismantling cross-border terror infrastructure and holding Pakistan-based handlers accountable for orchestrating terrorist violence, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
