Hafiz Saeed kin and aides among 23 added to terror list under UAPA, total count 80

In a notification, the Ministry of Home Affairs identified Saeed’s close associates as Abdul Rauf, Hafiz Khalid Waleed and Rana Iftikhar.

“Rana Iftikhar, 54, coordinates among anti-Jihadi organisations, motivates youths to carry out terrorist activities and is a close associate of Hafiz Saeed. Abdul Rauf, 52, belongs to LeT and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, is involved in planning and coordinating terrorist activities, collecting funds and is one of the main terrorists in LeT under the direct command of Hafiz Muhammad Saeed,” the MHA said.

Hafiz Khalid Waleed is associated with LeT and JuD. He is the son-in-law of Hafiz Mohammad Saeed and has been a member of the organisation’s Central Advisory Committee since 2003. He was the mastermind behind the June 2016 Pampore attack, in which eight CRPF personnel were killed. He was designated as a global terrorist by the US Department of the Treasury in August 2012.

Union Home Minister Amit Shah, in a post on X, 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.”

According to the MHA, formally designating these individuals as terrorists will not only help dismantle the terror ecosystem by curbing their financial networks, movements, recruitment capabilities, and terror-linked activities, but will also send a strong message of deterrence against anti-national and terrorist acts.

It will also enhance the capacity of security and law enforcement agencies to initiate coordinated legal, investigative, and preventive actions at both national and international levels.

Among those designated as terrorists is Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, also known as Mufti Masood Ilyas. The notification describes him as a 41-year-old man, currently residing in Rawalkot in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. He is a senior JeM functionary involved in recruiting youths, imparting training, and facilitating infiltration into India. The Centre has also linked him to the April 22, 2022 attack on security forces at Sunjwan in Jammu.

“Mohammad Mussadiq, also known as Doctor alias Hamza, a 38-year-old resident of Shakargarh in Narowal district of Pakistan, has also been designated. He is one of the main handlers of JeM infiltration of Pakistani terrorists into J-K and was involved in the Sunjwan attack. He supplied arms and ammunition through drones across the border and is also involved in handling a team of JeM cyber players who use various social media platforms to recruit youths for the outfit,” the notification stated.

Fifty-two-year-old Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan, also known as Abu Saad, a resident of Abbaspur in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir, has also been listed. “He is a launching commander of JeM terrorists in J-K and one of the masterminds of the November 29, 2016, attack on the Indian Army camp at Nagrota in Jammu,” the notification said.

The Centre has also designated as terrorist 56-year-old Hafiz Abdul Shakoor, who works as a launching commander for JeM in J-K and was involved in the 2016 Nagrota attack. Abdullah Jehadi, 47, also involved in the attack on the Indian Army camp at Nagrota, too has been listed.

The listing of these terrorists comes at a time when multiple security and investigation agencies continue to track cross-border terror networks using drones, encrypted communication platforms, and online recruitment channels to sustain terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir.