New Delhi, 4 July

The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday designated 23 individuals linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), The Resistance Front (TRF) and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

Out of the 23 terrorists, 17 are Pakistani, and six are Indian nationals. However, all of them at present operate terrorist activities from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. With the fresh move of the Central government, a total of 80 individuals have so far been designated as "terrorists" under Section 35 of the Act and included in the Fourth Schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The fresh list of 23 designated terrorists are involved in anti-India activities, carrying out terror attacks, inciting terror, trafficking arms, infiltrating through the border, facilitating terrorist organisations, raising funds and recruiting terrorists. All of these terrorists have been designated under Section 35 of the Act and included in the Fourth Schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967.

The designated terrorists are Masood Ilyas Kashmiri (JeM), Mohammad Musadiq (JeM), Mufti Mohammad Asghar Khan (JeM), Hafiz Abdul Shakoor (JeM), Abdullah Jihadi (JeM), Firdous Ahmed Bhat (LeT), Ghulam Farid (JeM), Abid Qayoom Lone (LeT), Haroon Rashid Ganai (LeT), Bilal Ahmed Mir (LeT and TRF), Nazir Ahmed Gujjar (LeT), Abdul Rauf (LeT, JuD, and FIF), Ashfaq Ahmed (JeM), Hafiz Khalid Walid (LeT and JuD), Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki (JeM), Maulana Saifullah Khalid (LeT), Mohammad Yaqoob (LeT), Maulana Yusuf Taibi (LeT and JuD), Owais Farooz (LeT), Qari Yaqub Sheikh (JuD), Rana Iftikhar (LeT and JuD), Wasim Noor Jat (JeM) and Mohammad Shahid Faisal (LeT, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS).

Soon after the MHA issued a notification naming these individuals as designated terrorists under UAPA, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a post on X, said that the Modi government is determined to rip apart every terror module to shield India and its people.

"Pursuing Modi Ji's vision of zero tolerance against terror, the MHA today declared 23 dreaded terror functionaries as terrorists under the provisions of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act. The designated terrorists are involved in anti-India activities, carrying out terror attacks, inciting terror, trafficking arms, infiltrating through the border, facilitating terrorist organisations, raising funds and recruiting terrorists. Out of the 23 terrorists announced today, 17 are Pakistani nationals and 6 are Indian nationals. However, all of them at present operate terrorist activities from Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir," Shah said.

Following the amendment to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 (UAPA) by the Central Government in 2019, a total of 57 individuals have so far been designated as "terrorists" under Section 35 of the Act and included in the Fourth Schedule of the Act.

The Central government has now additionally designated the following 23 individuals as "terrorists" by including their names in the Fourth Schedule of the Act.

Of these terrorists, Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, 41, having present residence at Rawalkot, a part of the district Poonch in Pakistan-Occupied Jammu and Kashmir, is a senior JeM functionary. He is involved in carrying out a wide range of terrorist activities against the country, including recruiting youth in the terror outfit, imparting training to them and then facilitating the infiltration of the terrorists into the country.

He is involved in the attack by the terrorists of JeM on the security forces at Sunjwan, Jammu, on April 22, 2022 and has also been involved in various terror attacks and is responsible for causing death and injuries to a number of persons in these terror incidents.

Firdous Ahmad Bhat is an Indian national (currently residing in Pakistan) and is associated with LeT. He is a launching commander of LeT who crossed into Pakistan through the Wagah border in 2018 using valid travel documents. He manages safe passage for foreign terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC). He also supplies weapons to Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and recruits youth from South Kashmir into terrorist ranks through radicalisation.

Abdul Rauf alias Hafiz Abdul Rauf is a Pakistani national and is associated with LeT, JuD, and FIF. He has been a senior LeT leader since 1999 and operates under the direct command of terrorist Hafiz Saeed. He mobilises international funding and public support for LeT under the cover of charitable organisations such as the FIF and the Al-Madina Welfare Trust. The United States has designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

Mohammad Shahid Faisal (alias Ustad, Muhandis, Zakir) holds Pakistani nationality (originally Indian, currently active in Rawalpindi) and is affiliated with LeT, Al-Qaeda, and ISIS. He is the key mastermind and handler behind the 2012 Bengaluru LeT conspiracy case and the 2013 Nanded LeT case, which involved plots for the targeted killings of right-wing politicians and journalists. He fled to Pakistan in 2013 with the assistance of terrorist Farhatullah Ghori. Investigations reveal his involvement as an online handler in the Rameshwaram Cafe blast case (2024), the Mangaluru cooker blast, and the Al-Hind ISIS module case. He recruits youth through anti-national and jihadist videos shared on social media, YouTube and Telegram channels (such as 'Sawat-al-Haq').