New Delhi, Jul 3: In a major crackdown on Pakistan-backed terrorism targeting Jammu and Kashmir, the Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has designated 23 Pakistan-based operatives linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and The Resistance Front (TRF) as individual terrorists under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Eleven of those designated are originally from Jammu and Kashmir.
The notifications, issued under the UAPA, add the names of the 23 individuals to the Fourth Schedule of the Act, taking the total number of designated individual terrorists from 57 to 80. The Centre said the action was taken after concluding that the individuals were actively involved in terrorism and their designation was necessary in the interest of national security.
According to the MHA, the designated operatives have played key roles in recruitment, training, infiltration, logistics, terror financing, drone-based arms smuggling, supply of weapons and ammunition, and planning and facilitating terrorist attacks in India, particularly in Jammu and Kashmir.
The government said several of the designated JeM operatives were directly linked to the November 29, 2016 attack on the Army camp at Nagrota and the April 22, 2022 terror attack on security forces at Sunjwan in Jammu. Others have allegedly managed training camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK), coordinated cross-border infiltration, launched terrorists into J&K and provided logistical and financial support to militant networks.
Of the 23 individuals notified, 17 are Pakistani nationals and six are Indian nationals. However, the government said all are currently operating from Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir.
Among those designated are 11 individuals with origins in Jammu and Kashmir or PoJK, including Masood Ilyas Kashmiri of Rawalkot, Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan of Abbaspur, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor of Kotli, Abdullah Jehadi of Neelum Valley, Ghulam Fareed of Bhimber, Bilal Ahmad Mir of Sopore, Abid Qayoom Lone of Baramulla, Haroon Rashid Ganai of Anantnag, Nazir Ahmed Gujjar of Doda, Owais Farooz Mir of Pulwama and Mohammed Shaheed Faisal, originally from Bengaluru but now based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
The MHA identified Masood Ilyas Kashmiri as a senior JeM functionary allegedly responsible for recruiting, training and infiltrating terrorists into India and for his role in the Sunjwan attack. Mohammad Mussadiq alias Doctor has been described as a key JeM handler involved in infiltration, drone-based delivery of arms and cyber recruitment through social media.
Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor and Abdullah Jehadi have been named as JeM launching commanders accused of facilitating infiltration, arranging training, logistics and funding for terrorists operating in Jammu and Kashmir.
The ministry also designated LeT operatives Firdous Ahmad Bhat, Haroon Rashid Ganai, Bilal Ahmad Mir, Abid Qayoom Lone and Nazir Ahmed Gujjar for their alleged involvement in arms supply, infiltration, terror financing, logistics management and motivating youth to join terrorist organisations.
Pakistan-based operatives Abdul Rauf alias Hafiz Abdul Rauf, Hafiz Khalid Waleed, Maulana Saifullah Khalid, Mohammad Yaqoob, Maulana Yousaf Taibi and Qari Yaqub Sheikh have been accused of coordinating anti-India terrorist activities, arranging finances and logistics, and working closely with Lashkar-e-Taiba leadership.
The MHA also designated JeM leaders Ashfaq Ahmad, Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki and Waseem Noor Jat for allegedly coordinating terrorist operations, facilitating drone deliveries of arms and ammunition and planning multiple attacks in India.
Mohammed Shaheed Faisal has been identified as having links with LeT, JeM, Al-Qaeda and ISIS. According to the ministry, he was involved in online radicalisation, recruitment through social media, arranging weapons training in Pakistan, raising funds, training recruits in encrypted communications and fake identities, and facilitating the delivery of arms and ammunition for terrorist activities.
Under the UAPA, the Centre can designate an individual as a terrorist if it believes the person is involved in terrorism. The provision was introduced through the 2019 amendment to the Act. The designation empowers the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other agencies to freeze financial assets, impose restrictions on arms transactions and initiate proceedings to seize properties linked to the individuals. (Agencies)
