The Union Home Ministry has declared 23 Pakistan-based individuals as “terrorists” under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), taking the total number of designated individual terrorists in India to 80. The move targets people linked to terror outfits such as Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), and other Pakistan-based groups.
Why did the Home Ministry designate 23 more individuals as terrorists?
According to the notification issued on Saturday, these individuals have been involved in activities including recruiting terrorists, helping infiltrate militants into India, supplying weapons, planning attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, and spreading extremist propaganda.
Who are the key Pakistan-based operatives added to the UAPA list?
Among those added to the list are three close aides of Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Saeed. They include Abdul Rauf, a senior member of LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Hafiz Khalid Waleed, another senior LeT and JuD leader, and Rana Iftikhar, who is accused of coordinating jihadi activities and motivating young people to join terrorist organisations.
The Home Ministry also designated Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, a senior JeM functionary operating from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to the ministry, he played a role 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 in Sunjwan, Jammu.
Another key name added is Mohammad Mussadiq alias Doctor, who is described as JeM’s main handler for infiltrating Pakistani terrorists into India. The ministry said he was involved in supplying arms and ammunition through drones, planning terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, and managing cyber operatives who use social media to recruit young people into the organisation.
Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan alias Abu Saad, another senior JeM leader, has also been declared a terrorist. The Home Ministry said he served as a launching commander for JeM militants in Jammu and Kashmir and was one of the masterminds behind the November 29, 2016, attack on the Indian Army camp at Nagrota in Jammu.
