MHA designates Saudi Arabia-based Dr Asif Maqbool Dar as terrorist, fourth in a week

Dar is the fourth person to be declared a terrorist under the stringent Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) this week.

A native of Srinagar’s Baramulla, Dar had moved out of the country several years ago. “Dar is presently based at Daman, Ash Sharqiyah, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia, is associated with Hizbul Mujahideen, is listed as a terrorist organisation at serial no. 8 of the first schedule of UAPA. He is involved in instigating or provoking the youth of Kashmir valley for terrorist activities by using social media platforms,” a notification issued by the MHA reads.

“Dar is one of the leading radical voices on social media and involved in nefariously influencing Kashmiri youth to take up arms against Indian Government and security forces. He is accused in a case investigated by the National Investigation Agency relating to conspiracy hatched by the cadres of terrorist organisation to undertake violent terrorist acts in Jammu and Kashmir and major cities in India including Delhi on the direction of handlers based across the border. The Central government believes that Dar is involved in terrorism and… he is to be added as a terrorist under the UAPA,” the notification further states.

Earlier this week, the MHA had declared the People’s Anti-Fascist Front (PAFF), believed to be an affiliate of Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM), and the Resistance Front (TRF), a militant outfit active in Jammu and Kashmir born as an off-shoot of the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as terrorist organisations.

“The MHA had declared, Aijaz Ahmad Ahanger alias Abu Usman Al-Kashmiri, one of the main recruiters of Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK), Mohammed Amin alias Abu Khubaib, launching commander of LeT, and Arbaz Ahmad Mir, associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba and the main conspirator behind the killing of Rajni Bala, a Hindu teacher, as individual terrorists,” the MHA said.