Indias Ministry of Home Affairs has named 23 Pakistan-based individuals as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act. This is a move to stop cross-border terror networks.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has added these 23 individuals to the list of designated terrorists. Now the total number of individuals on this list is 80.
Who Has Been Designated
The Ministry of Home Affairs issued notifications on Saturday to add the names of these 23 individuals to the list. 17 Of them are nationals and 6 are Indian nationals who live in Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. 11 Of them are originally from Jammu and Kashmir or Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. They live in places like Rawalkot, Abbaspur, Kotli, Neelum Valley, Bhimber, Sopore, Baramulla, Anantnag, Doda and Pulwama.
These individuals are said to be part of organisations like Lashkar-e-Taiba Jaish-e-Mohammed Jamaat-ud-Dawa, Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and The Resistance Front.
Key Names on the List
Hafiz Khalid Waleed, son-in-law of LeT founder Hafiz Mohammad Saeed is one of them. The MHA says he planned the 2016 Pampore attack that killed 8 CRPF personnel. Abdul Rauf is another name on the list. He is accused of collecting money for LeT through charity work. Rana Iftikhar, an aide of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed is also on the list.
Some senior JeM leaders are also on the list including:
Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan ,Hafiz Abdul Shakoor, Abdullah Jehadi, Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, Mohammad Mussadiq, Mohammed Shaheed Faisal, a 40-year- engineer from Bengaluru is now based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan.
The government says he works with LeT, JeM, Al-Qaeda and ISIS. He is accused of getting people to join terror groups through social media arranging weapon training in Pakistan and collecting money for terror activities. The National Investigation Agency (NIA) says he was involved in the IED explosion at Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru in March 2024.
Nature of Alleged Activities
The MHA says these people were involved in activities to destabilize India especially in Jammu and Kashmir. These activities include:
Helping terrorists cross the border, recruiting and training militants, supplying arms and ammunition, collecting money for terror activities, planning and executing attacks on security forces
Home Minister’s Statement
Home Minister Amit Shah said on media that the government will not tolerate terrorism. He said these people were involved in terror attacks inciting terrorism arms trafficking, -border infiltration and recruiting operatives for banned organisations.
Strategic Implications
The government can now name individuals as terrorists, not just groups. This was changed in 2019. This move gives agencies like the NIA power to take action, against these people and their networks.
The Biggest Picture
This move is part of Indias effort to put pressure on Pakistan to stop terror groups. By naming these individuals as terrorists the government hopes to work with law enforcement agencies to stop terror financing and cross-border operatives.
