New Delhi (India) July 4: In a major counter-terrorist move, the Union Home Ministry on Saturday named 23 individuals connected to terror organisations based in Pakistan as ‘terrorists’ under Section 35 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA), a home ministry notification said. With the notification, 80 individuals have now been designated as terrorists under the amended UAPA.
Shah Reiterates Zero-Tolerance Against Terrorism
The government has committed itself to the goal of completely eliminating terrorism, Home Minister Amit Shah said.
Shah said, “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 UA(P)A. They 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,” in a post on social media platform X.
JeM, LeT, TRF Among Linked Terrorist Organisations
Out of the 23 individuals, 17 are Pakistanis while six are Indians and all are from Pakistan and from Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), the home ministry says.
These individuals have been engaged in planning and executing terror attacks, provoking violence, recruiting youth for terror, arm trafficking, orchestrating cross-border infiltration, financing and aiding terror networks, the home ministry stated.
According to the home ministry, the individuals are affiliated with terror organizations that include, 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).
Bengaluru Engineer Linked To Major Terror Case
Of the six Indians, a Bengaluru engineer is among the others. Mohammed Shaheed Faisal (40), residing in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, is also associated with Pakistan-based terrorist organizations LeT and JeM and is believed to have connections with Al-Qaeda and ISIS modules, the home ministry stated.
He was named by the NIA as an alleged operator of the terror attack that carried out an IED explosion at the Rameshwaram Cafe in Bengaluru. Wanted by the National Investigation Agency since 2012 with a bounty of ₹10 lakh, Faisal is accused of operating terror modules in Karnataka.
NIA Empowered To Freeze Terror-Linked Assets
The government’s decision, taken with the view of protecting India's internal and territorial integrity, will now broaden the scope of Fourth Schedule of the UAPA, allowing effective measures to tighten the legal and financial screws on such individuals orchestrating anti-India terror activities from Pakistan and PoK.
The decision has armed the National Investigation Agency (NIA), the country's premier anti-terror agency, along with other agencies, to take steps like freezing assets, blocking financing, imposing embargoes on arms and seizing property linked to these terrorists.