Srinagar, Jul 4 (NVI): The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday designated 23 operatives linked to banned terror outfits as individual terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), citing their involvement in terror attacks, recruitment, infiltration, terror financing and logistical support for terrorism.
According to a series of notifications issued by the MHA, the newly designated individuals are associated with banned organisations, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), The Resistance Front (TRF) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).
The ministry said 11 of the 23 designated individuals are originally from 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 J&K natives based in PoK include Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor, Abdullah Jehadi, Ghulam Fareed, Bilal Ahmad Mir of Sopore and Abid Qayoom Lone of Baramulla.
Those stated to be 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, now based in Rawalpindi.
The notifications said 10 of the designated individuals are affiliated with JeM, while 13 are linked to LeT, with some also associated with TRF or JuD.
The MHA alleged that the operatives were involved in recruitment and training of terrorists, facilitating infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir, planning terror attacks, supplying arms and ammunition through cross-border networks and drones, raising funds and managing logistics for terrorist activities.
The ministry also linked several JeM operatives to the 2016 Nagrota Army camp attack and the 2022 Sunjwan attack on security forces.
Among the Pakistan-based operatives designated under the UAPA are Abdul Rauf, Hafiz Khalid Waleed, Maulana Saifullah Khalid, Mohammad Yaqoob, Molana Yousaf Taibi, Qari Yaqub Sheikh, Rana Iftikhar, Waseem Noor Jat, Ashfaq Ahmad, Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki and Mohammad Mussadiq.
In a separate notification, the MHA alleged that Mohammed Shaheed Faisal had links with LeT, JeM, Al-Qaeda and ISIS modules, and accused him of recruiting youth through social media, arranging weapons training in Pakistan, raising funds and facilitating arms supply.
The Centre said it exercised its powers under Section 35 of the UAPA after concluding that the 23 individuals were involved in terrorism. With the latest additions, the number of individuals designated as terrorists under the Fourth Schedule of the UAPA has risen to 80.(NVI)
