New Delhi, Jul 4: The Ministry of Home Affairs, under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah, on Saturday designated 23 individuals as ‘terrorists’.
The decision is a significant step under the Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led government’s ‘zero tolerance policy’ against terrorism,
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said that the PM Modi-led government was committed to dismantling every terror module to ensure the safety of India and its people.
In a post on X, Shah said, “Pursuing PM Shri Narendra Modi Ji’s vision of zero tolerance against terror: the MHA today declared 23 dreaded terror functionaries affiliated with banned organisations 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.”
He said that formally designating these individuals as terrorists would not only help dismantle the terror ecosystem by curbing their financial networks, movements, recruitment capabilities, and terror-linked activities, but also send a strong message of deterrence against anti-national and terrorist acts.
The Union Home Minister said it would.enhance the capacity of security and law enforcement agencies to initiate coordinated legal, investigative, and preventive actions at both national and international levels.
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 said Act and listed in its Fourth Schedule.
The Centre has now designated the 23 additional individuals as ‘terrorists’ as well, listing them in the Fourth Schedule.
They have been identified as Masood Ilyas Kashmiri alias Mufti Masood Ilyas, Masood Ilyas, Abu Mohammad, and Muhammad Masood Ilyas; Muhammad Musadiq alias Doctor, Abdul Mannan, Sajjad, Hamza, and Wahid Khan! Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan alias Abu Saad and Saad Jimmy; Hafiz Abdul Shakoor alias Qari Jarrar; Abdullah Jihadi alias Shahnawaz and Al-Hijama; Firdous Ahmed Bhat; Ghulam Farid alias Gulshan Kumar and Farid; Haroon Rashid Ganai alias Shunu; Bilal Ahmed Mir alias Ahmed Bhai; Abid Qayoom Lone; Nazir Ahmed Gujjar alias Abu Manazil; Abdul Rauf alias Hafiz Abdul Rauf and Hafiz Abdur Rauf; Ashfaq Ahmed alias Ishfaq Ahmed; Hafiz Khalid Walid alias Hafiz Khalid Naik and Khalid Walid; Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki alias Maulana Imdad, Imdad Bhai, and Maulana Imdadullah;
Maulana Saifullah Khalid alias Waliul, Muhammad Salim, and Wajid; Muhammad Yaqoob alias Abu Sumama, Samama Ilyas, and Waris Ali; Maulana Yusuf Taibi alias Muhammad Yusuf; Owais Farooz alias Owais Ahmed Mir and Owais Farooz Mir; Qari Yaqub Sheikh alias Qari Muhammad Yaqub Sheikh, Yaqub Sheikh,.Qari Sheikh Muhammad Yaqub, and Muhammad Yaqub;
Rana Iftikhar alias Rana Waleed Atif, Rana Iftikhar Haider, Rana Iftikhar Ahmed, and Haider Khan; Wasim Noor Jat alias Qari Wasim and Muhammad Shahid Faisal alias Ustad, Muhandis, and Zakir.
According to the MHA, Masood Ilyas Kashmiri is a Pakistani national affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).
“He is a close confidant of Maulana Masood Azhar and the key coordinator for infiltration into Kashmir. He is actively involved in recruiting youth into terrorist groups via social media and raising funds for terrorism. He orchestrated the attack on a police checkpoint near the PDP office in Sunjwan, Jammu, in April 2022,” the MHA said.
It said that Muhammad Musaddiq is a Pakistani national affiliated with JeM.
“He serves as the launching commander for the Lasiyakot sector, facilitating infiltration across the border via tunnels. He has been involved in sending consignments of arms and ammunition to India using drones. Additionally, he was involved in conducting reconnaissance of strategic locations such as the RJB complex in Ayodhya, the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, and the IOCL refinery in Panipat,” the MHA said.
It said Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan is a Pakistani national affiliated with JeM.
“He serves as the JeM ‘Amir’ (chief) and head of its military wing in PoK. He is one of the key conspirators behind the terrorist attack on the Indian Army camp in Nagrota, Jammu. He runs camps in Muzaffarabad to provide jihadist and military training to terrorists,” the MHA said.
It said Hafiz Abdul Shakoor alias Qari Jarrar is a Pakistani national and is affiliated with JeM and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM).
“He facilitated the infiltration of three Pakistani terrorists via the Samba-Kathua sector for the attack on the Nagrota Army camp. He participated in the Afghan war during 1995–96 and coordinates terrorist activities with the assistance of the ISI. He is a member of the JeM’s governing council (Shura),” the MHA said.
It said Abdullah Jihadi is a Pakistani national and is affiliated with JeM.
“He is a co-conspirator of Mufti Asgar Khan and facilitates the infiltration of terrorists into the North Kashmir region. He has attempted to incite hatred and disaffection against the Government of India. He used to manage several launching camps located in the Kupwara and Baramulla districts,” the MHA said.
It said Firdous Ahmad Bhat is an Indian national, currently based in Pakistan, associated with Lashkar-e-Toiba.
“He serves as a ‘launching commander’ for the group, having crossed into Pakistan via the Wagah border in 2018 using valid travel documents. He facilitates safe passage for foreign terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC). Additionally, he is involved in supplying weapons to Over Ground Workers (OGWs) and radicalising the youth of South Kashmir to recruit them into terrorist activities,” the MHA said.
It said Ghulam Farid is a Pakistani national and is affiliated with JeM.
“He served in the Pakistan Army from 2001 to 2005. Subsequently, in September 2008, he entered India illegally via Bangladesh. He was arrested in Jammu in December 2008 and was later deported to Pakistan in July 2019,” the MHA said.
It said Haroon Rashid Ganai is an Indian national, currently residing in Pakistan, and is affiliated with LeT.
“He travelled to Pakistan with valid documents in March 2018 and joined LeT there. He incites youths from the Kashmir Valley to join terrorist ranks and supplies arms and ammunition to OGWs for carrying out terrorist activities,” the MHA said.
It said Bilal Ahmed Mir is an Indian national, currently residing in Muzaffarabad, PoK, and is affiliated with LeT and The Resistance Front (TRF).
“Operating from across the border in Pakistan and PoK, he conspires to incite and instigate local Kashmiri youth to engage in jihad. Furthermore, he is directly involved in managing the illicit supply chain of arms, ammunition, and logistics into Kashmir,” the MHA said.
It said Abid Qayoom Lone is an Indian national,.currently residing in PoK, and is affiliated with LeT.
“He travelled to Pakistan via the Attari check post in February 2020 and did not return. He is involved in planning attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir and raising funds for LeT. He smuggles narcotics on a large scale from Pakistan into India through an organised syndicate operating along the LoC, with the proceeds used to finance terrorist activities, the MHA said.
It said Nazir Ahmed Gujjar is an Indian national, currently residing in Islamabad, Pakistan, is affiliated with LeT.
“He crossed the LoC into PoK in 2006. He recruited local youths to revive terrorist activities in the Doda and Kishtwar regions. He has been a key operator in sending consignments of arms and ammunition into Indian territory via drones across the Samba and R S Pura sectors,” the MHA said.
It said Abdul Rauf is a Pakistani national associated with LeT, Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF).
“He has been a senior leader of Lashkar since 1999 and operates under the direct command of the terrorist Hafiz Saeed. He works to mobilize funds and public support for Lashkar at an international level under the guise of charitable organisations such as the FIF and Al-Madina Welfare Trust. The United States has designated him a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ (SDGT),” the MHA said.
It said Ashfaq Ahmed is a Pakistani national associated with JeM.
“He joined JeM in 2000 and is in charge of ‘Shuaba Hadith’ and the Al-Rehmat Trust (JeM’s charity wing) in Bahawalpur. He received jihadi training in PoK. He was identified as one of the subscribers of the Pakistani mobile numbers used during the January 2016 attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station,” the MHA said.
It said Hafiz Khalid Waleed is a Pakistani national associated with LeT and JuD.
“He is the son-in-law of LeT chief Hafiz Muhammad Saeed and has been a member of the organisation’s Central Advisory Committee since 2003. He was the key mastermind behind the June 2016 Pampore attack, in which eight Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) personnel were killed. He was designated as a global terrorist by the US Department of the Treasury in August 2012,” the MHA said.
It said Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki is a Pakistani national and is affiliated with JeM. “He serves as the Ameer (chief) of Jaish’s prisoners’ wing Shoba-e-Aseeran and heads the organisation’s legal affairs. He is a very close associate of Maulana Masood Azhar and his deputy, Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar. He was involved in real-time coordination with the terrorists who attacked the Pathankot airbase in January 2016,” the MHA said.
It said Maulana Saifullah Khalid is a Pakistani national and is affiliated with LeT and the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML).
“He serves as the General Secretary of the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League and previously held the position of President of the Milli Muslim League (MML). He has headed several wings of Lashkar and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, such as the propaganda department and the control and reform wing. In April 2018, the United States designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT),” the MHA said.
It said Muhammad Yaqoob is a Pakistani national affiliated with LeT.
“He currently operates as an LeT operational commander based in Islamabad (Chatta Bakhtawar). He coordinates financial and logistical support for other LeT cadres active in the Kashmir Valley to carry out terrorist activities in India. A case has been registered against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at the CI Kashmir Police Station in Srinagar,” the MHA said.
It said Maulana Yusuf Taibi is a Pakistani national associated with LeT and JuD.
“He is a key leader within LeT and JuD, currently affiliated with the organisation’s control and reform, Dawat-o-Islah, wing. He previously headed the ‘Jamia Al-Dirasat Al-Islamia Trust’ (JADIAT), a Karachi-based entity linked to LeT and JuD. Currently, he is associated with the ‘Al-Qadsia Islamic Center’ in Lahore and delivers Friday religious sermons at the Sargodha Markaz in Punjab,” the MHA said.
It said Owais Farooz is an Indian national associated with LeT.
“He travelled to Pakistan via the Wagah border on a valid Indian passport in April 2018 and joined the terrorist ranks of the LeT. In January 2023, his brother, Farzan Feroz, was arrested by the Srinagar Police with 450 grams of heroin (valued at approximately Rs 9.95 lakh) and an LeT letterhead. The NIA Court, Pulwama, has issued a proclamation order against him under Section 82 of the CrPC,” the MHA said.
It said Qari Yaqub Sheikh is a Pakistani national and is affiliated with the PMML and JuD.
“He is a central leader of JuD and a member of its central ‘Dawati team’ (proselytisation team). He contested the 2018 Pakistani general election as a candidate for the Milli Muslim League (MML). He has played a prominent role in missions to raise funds for Lashkar and JuD in Saudi Arabia. In August 2012, the United States designated him as a global terrorist,” the MHA said.
It said Rana Iftikhar is a Pakistani national associated with LeT and JuD.
“He is a close associate of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed and serves as the key manager of finances for the organisation’s Kashmir operations. He heads ‘Shoba-e-Aseeran,’ the wing responsible for the welfare of the families of terrorists who have been killed or are imprisoned in Indian jails. He was arrested in 1993 after being wounded during an encounter in the Mendhar sector of Jammu & Kashmir and remained incarcerated in an Indian prison until 2004,” the MHA said.
It said Wasim Noor Jat alias Qari Wasim is a Pakistani national associated JeM.
“He is a JeM ‘launching commander’ responsible for operations in the Kotli area. During 2021–22, he was involved in activities related to dropping weapons and ammunition into Indian territory via drones. He was previously arrested by security forces in October 2008 and was incarcerated at Kot Bhalwal Central Jail, Jammu, from 2012 to 2015; following his release, he was deported to Pakistan,” the MHA said.
It said Muhammad Shahid Faisal holds Pakistani nationality, who is originally Indian and is 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 and YouTube and Telegram channels like ‘Sawat-al-Haq,'” the MHA said.
