In a major and decisive move reflecting the current administration's strict zero-tolerance stance against cross-border violence, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has officially designated 23 additional individuals as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Executed under the direct guidance of Union Home Minister Shri Amit Shah, this sweeping legal action brings the total number of individuals designated as terrorists since the crucial 2019 amendment of the UAPA to 80.

The primary objective of this administrative crackdown is to systematically dismantle the deeply entrenched terror ecosystem. By blacklisting these individuals, the government is directly targeting key functionaries, coordinators, and commanders of banned outfits who continue to safely operate against India from sanctuaries across Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).

Breaking Down the Network

A closer look at the geographic and national backgrounds of the newly designated individuals reveals a deeply interconnected network of cross-border operations. Out of the 23 blacklisted individuals, 17 are Pakistani nationals, while 6 are Indian nationals who have fled the country. Despite their different origins, all 23 are currently based out of Pakistan and PoJK to direct anti-India operations.

The formal designation of these operatives under the UAPA's Fourth Schedule is a strategic move designed to choke their operations from multiple angles. Security analysts note that this listing is expected to significantly curb their financial networks, heavily restrict their operational movements, hamper their local and digital recruitment capabilities, and thoroughly disrupt other terror-linked activities. Beyond immediate disruption, the measure sends a powerful message of deterrence against anti-national and terrorist acts. Simultaneously, it gives national security and law enforcement agencies a stronger legal footing to initiate coordinated legal, investigative, and preventive actions at both domestic and international levels.

A Commitment to Total Elimination

Reflecting on the government's long-term strategy, Union Home Minister Amit Shah stated that the government is firmly committed to dismantling every terror module to ensure the safety of India and its people.

In a detailed statement shared on the social media platform X, the Home Minister reiterated that pursuing Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision of zero tolerance against terror, the MHA has declared 23 dreaded terror functionaries affiliated with banned organisations as terrorists under the provisions of the UAPA. He further noted that these individuals 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.

Affiliations and High-Tech War Tactics

The architectural makeup of these threat networks shows that the designated individuals are largely affiliated with proscribed terrorist organizations such as Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Additionally, strong operational links have been traced to groups like Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and The Resistance Front (TRF).

A significant number of these individuals have served as launching commanders. In this role, they have been responsible for facilitating the infiltration of heavily armed terrorists into Jammu and Kashmir. To bypass heavily guarded borders, they have utilized underground tunnels and deployed modern technologies, such as dropping consignments of assault weapons and ammunition using unmanned drones.

Several individuals on this list have been directly implicated in planning and executing high-profile attacks on Indian security forces over the past decade. These include:

• The deadly terrorist strike on the Indian Army camp in Nagrota, Jammu.

• The targeted attack on a police checkpoint located near the PDP office in Sunjwan in April 2022.

• The highly sensitive Pathankot airbase attack in January 2016.

• The devastating June 2016 Pampore attack, which resulted in the tragic deaths of eight CRPF personnel.

Beyond direct military strikes, others on the list have focused heavily on psychological and financial warfare. They have been aggressively engaged in radicalizing and recruiting vulnerable Kashmiri youth through various social media platforms, running active jihadist training camps in PoJK, and raising substantial funds for terrorist outfits under the deceptive garb of charitable organizations. Furthermore, they have set up organized syndicates to smuggle narcotics on a large scale across the Line of Control (LoC), using the drug profits to directly finance regional terror activities. Notably, some of these designated persons have prior records of serving in the regular Pakistan Army or participating in the Afghan war, while a few have already been recognized and designated as global terrorists by the United States.

Among the most prominent names highlighted by the MHA are:

• Masood Ilyas Kashmiri: A close confidant of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar and the primary coordinator for cross-border infiltration into Kashmir.

• Mufti Mohammad Asghar Khan: The JeM Amir and head of its military wing in PoK, who acted as a key conspirator in the Nagrota army camp attack.

• Hafiz Khalid Waleed: The son-in-law of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed and the operational mastermind behind the Pampore CRPF convoy attack.

• Mohammad Shahid Faisal: A dangerous operative linked to multiple complex conspiracy cases, including the high-profile Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru and several recent operational modules.

Detailed Profiles of the 23 Designated Terrorists

The Ministry of Home Affairs has released comprehensive individual profiles detailing the identities, aliases, organizational roles, and specific criminal histories of the 23 blacklisted individuals:

1. Masood Ilyas Kashmiri

Also known across networks as Mufti Masood Ilyas, Masood Ilyas, Abu Mohammad, or M. Masood Ilyas, he is a Pakistani national deeply embedded within the core leadership of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Operating as a close confidant of JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar, he serves as the primary coordinator for infiltration blueprints into Kashmir. He remains highly active in digital radicalization, recruiting youth into terrorist groups via social media while aggressively raising operational funds. In terms of direct violence, he orchestrated the targeted attack on the police checkpoint near the PDP office in Sunjwan, Jammu, in April 2022.

2. Mohammad Musaddiq

Utilizing multiple aliases including Doctor, Abdul Mannan, Sajjad, Hamza, and Wahid Khan, Musaddiq is a Pakistani national affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He functions as the vital launching commander for the Lasiyakot sector, specializing in facilitating cross-border infiltration via covert underground tunnels. He has been a pioneer in using modern drone technology to drop packages of arms and ammunition deep into Indian territory. Intelligence reports also reveal his involvement in conducting detailed reconnaissance of highly strategic locations, including the RJB complex in Ayodhya, the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, and the IOCL refinery in Panipat.

3. Mufti Mohammad Asghar Khan

Known in underground circles as Abu Saad or Saad Jimiki, he is a Pakistani national affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He carries immense influence as the JeM ‘Amir’ (chief) and the supreme head of its active military wing in PoK. Khan is recognized as one of the primary mastermind conspirators behind the complex terrorist attack on the Indian Army camp in Nagrota, Jammu. To sustain their cadres, he actively runs specialized camps in Muzaffarabad to provide intense jihadist and military training to fresh recruits.

4. Hafiz Abdul Shakoor

Commonly known as Qari Jarrar, he is a Pakistani national who maintains dual affiliations with both Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Harkat-ul-Mujahideen (HuM). Shakoor was the handler who directly facilitated the infiltration of three Pakistani terrorists via the Samba-Kathua sector to carry out the attack on the Nagrota Army camp. A veteran militant, he actively participated in the Afghan war during the years 1995–96. He coordinates ongoing terrorist activities with the direct assistance of the Pakistani ISI and sits as an influential member of the JeM’s core governing council (Shura).

5. Abdullah Jihadi

Going by the aliases Shahnawaz or Al-Hijama, he is a Pakistani national affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). Operating as a close co-conspirator of Mufti Asgar Khan, his primary responsibility is facilitating the smooth infiltration of foreign terrorists into the North Kashmir region. He has consistently attempted to incite hatred, violence, and disaffection against the Government of India through targeted propaganda. Historically, he was responsible for managing several vital launching camps located across the Kupwara and Baramulla districts.

6. Firdous Ahmad Bhat

An Indian national currently based out of safe havens in Pakistan, Bhat is closely associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He serves the group as a strategic ‘launching commander’. His backstory reveals that he crossed into Pakistan via the Wagah border in 2018 using valid travel documents before joining the militancy. Today, he coordinates safe passage for foreign terrorists moving across the Line of Control (LoC), supplies lethal weapons to local Over Ground Workers (OGWs), and focuses on radicalizing the youth of South Kashmir to pull them into active terrorist ranks.

7. Ghulam Farid

Also known as Gulshan Kumar, Farid is a Pakistani national affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He possesses formal military training, having served directly in the Pakistan Army from 2001 to 2005. Following his military stint, he entered India completely illegally via the Bangladesh border in September 2008. His subversion was cut short when he was arrested by security forces in Jammu in December 2008. After serving his time, he was formally deported back to Pakistan in July 2019, where he immediately rejoined JeM operations.

8. Haroon Rashid Ganai

Known by the alias Shunu, Ganai is an Indian national currently residing in Pakistan and operating on behalf of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He traveled from India to Pakistan utilizing valid legal documents in March 2018, chose not to return, and formally joined the ranks of the LeT. From his base across the border, he actively incites youth from the Kashmir Valley to pick up arms and coordinates the steady supply of arms and ammunition to Over Ground Workers to carry out local acts of terror.

9. Bilal Ahmed Mir

Operating under the alias ‘Ahmed Bhai’, Mir is an Indian national currently residing in Muzaffarabad, PoK. He maintains overlapping ties with both Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its offshoot, The Resistance Front (TRF). Operating seamlessly from across the border, he actively conspires to incite and instigate local Kashmiri youth to engage in violent jihad. Furthermore, he is directly involved in managing the complex, illicit supply chain that feeds arms, ammunition, and vital logistics into the Kashmir Valley.

10. Abid Qayoom Lone

An Indian national currently residing in PoK, Lone is affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He originally traveled to Pakistan via the Attari check post in February 2020 on legal grounds and intentionally overstayed to join terror networks. He is heavily involved in planning tactical ambushes and attacks on security forces in Jammu and Kashmir, alongside raising operational funds for the LeT. To bankroll these operations, he smuggles narcotics on a large scale from Pakistan into India through an organized criminal syndicate operating tightly along the Line of Control (LoC).

11. Nazir Ahmed Gujjar

Going by the alias Abu Manazil, Gujjar is an Indian national currently residing in Islamabad, Pakistan, and working for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He originally crossed the Line of Control into PoK back in 2006. Over the years, he has focused heavily on recruiting local youth in an attempt to revive dying terrorist activities in the Doda and Kishtwar regions. He has also emerged as a key operator in sending dangerous consignments of arms and ammunition into Indian territory via drones across the sensitive Samba and R.S. Pura sectors.

12. Abdul Rauf

Also tracked as Hafiz Abdul Rauf or Hafiz Abdur Rauf, he is a veteran Pakistani national associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF). Rauf has been a prominent senior leader within the Lashkar hierarchy since 1999, operating under the direct personal command of master-terrorist Hafiz Saeed. His primary role is global resource mobilization; he works to raise funds and drum up public support for Lashkar at an international level under the deceptive guise of charitable organizations like the FIF and the Al-Madina Welfare Trust. Because of his extensive global network, the United States has formally designated him a ‘Specially Designated Global Terrorist’ (SDGT).

13. Ashfaq Ahmed

Also known as Ishfaq Ahmed, he is a Pakistani national associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) who joined the group in 2000. He holds immense institutional power as the person in charge of ‘Shuaba Hadith’ and the Al-Rehmat Trust (JeM’s primary charity and fundraising wing) based in Bahawalpur. After receiving extensive jihadi training in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, he transitioned to operational support. Investigators conclusively identified him as one of the active subscribers of the specific Pakistani mobile numbers used to coordinate the January 2016 attack on the Pathankot Air Force Station.

14. Hafiz Khalid Waleed

Commonly known as Hafiz Khalid Naik or simply Khalid Waleed, he is a prominent Pakistani national associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). He holds deep family ties to the core leadership, being the son-in-law of LeT chief Hafiz Mohammad Saeed, and has served on the organization’s Central Advisory Committee since 2003. Waleed was identified as the key mastermind behind the June 2016 Pampore attack that claimed the lives of eight CRPF personnel. Recognizing his dangerous reach, the US Department of the Treasury designated him as a global terrorist back in August 2012.

15. Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki

Tracked under the aliases Maulana Imdad, Imdad Bhai, or Maulana Imdadullah, he is a Pakistani national deeply embedded in Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He serves as the authoritative Amir (chief) of Jaish’s dedicated prisoners’ wing, known as Shoba-e-Aseeran, and heads the terror outfit's legal affairs department. Makki is a very close associate of Maulana Masood Azhar and his direct deputy, Mufti Abdul Rauf Asghar. Investigative data proved he was involved in critical, real-time coordination with the active cell of terrorists who attacked the Pathankot airbase in January 2016.

16. Maulana Saifullah Khalid

Known across agencies as Waliul, Mohammad Salim, or Wajid, he is a Pakistani national affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the political front, the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML). He currently serves as the General Secretary of the PMML and previously held the position of President of the Milli Muslim League (MML). Over his career, Khalid has headed several critical internal wings of Lashkar and Jamaat-ud-Dawa, including their vast propaganda department and the internal control and reform wing. In April 2018, the United States officially designated him as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).

17. Mohammad Yaqoob

Operating under the aliases Abu Sumama, Samama Ilyas, or Waris Ali, Yaqoob is a Pakistani national affiliated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He currently operates as a high-ranking LeT operational commander based out of Islamabad (specifically Chatta Bakhtawar). From the capital, he coordinates the flow of financial and logistical support directly to active LeT cadres operating inside the Kashmir Valley. Because of his command role, an active case has been registered against him under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) at the CI Kashmir Police Station located in Srinagar.

18. Maulana Yusuf Taibi

Also known as Mohammad Yusuf, Taibi is a Pakistani national associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). He is a key ideological leader within the LeT/JuD hierarchy, currently affiliated with the organization’s core control and reform wing, known natively as Dawat-o-Islah. He previously headed the ‘Jamia Al-Dirasat Al-Islamia Trust’ (JADIAT), a notorious Karachi-based entity linked to LeT operations. Currently, he operates from the ‘Al-Qadsia Islamic Center’ in Lahore and regularly delivers highly influential Friday religious sermons (Khutba) at the prominent Sargodha Markaz in Punjab.

19. Owais Farooz

Known by the aliases Owais Ahmed Mir or Owais Farooz Mir, he is an Indian national associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). He traveled legally to Pakistan via the Wagah border on a valid Indian passport in April 2018, intentionally choosing to vanish into the terrorist ranks of the LeT. His deep local ties were highlighted in January 2023 when his biological brother, Farzan Feroz, was intercepted and arrested by the Srinagar Police carrying 450 grams of high-grade heroin (valued at approximately ₹9.95 lakh) alongside official LeT letterheads. The specialized NIA Court in Pulwama has since issued a strict proclamation order against Owais Farooz under Section 82 of the CrPC.

20. Qari Yaqub Sheikh

Tracked via multiple name variations including Qari Mohammad Yaqub Sheikh, Yaqub Sheikh, Qari Sheikh Muhammad Yaqub, and Mohammad Yaqub, he is a Pakistani national affiliated with the Pakistan Markazi Muslim League (PMML) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Sheikh is a central leader of JuD and a senior member of its central proselytization team (Dawati team). Showing the political integration of these actors, he openly contested the 2018 Pakistani general election as an official candidate for the Milli Muslim League (MML). He has played a prominent role in international fundraising missions for Lashkar and JuD, specifically within Saudi Arabia. The United States designated him as a global terrorist in August 2012.

21. Rana Iftikhar

Known by multiple structural aliases including Rana Waleed Atif, Rana Iftikhar Haider, Rana Iftikhar Ahmed, or Haider Khan, he is a Pakistani national associated with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD). Iftikhar is a highly trusted, close associate of LeT chief Hafiz Saeed and serves as the primary manager of finances for the organization’s complex operations in Kashmir. He currently heads Shoba-e-Aseeran, the specialized wing responsible for managing financial welfare and stipends for the families of terrorists who have been killed or are currently imprisoned in Indian jails. Historically, he has faced Indian justice firsthand: he was arrested back in 1993 after being severely wounded during an intense encounter in the Mendhar sector of Jammu & Kashmir and remained incarcerated in an Indian prison for over a decade until his release and return in 2004.

22. Wasim Noor Jat

Commonly operating under the alias Qari Wasim, he is a Pakistani national associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He functions as a tactical JeM ‘launching commander’ responsible for direct operations in the Kotli area. During the active periods of 2021–22, he was heavily involved in organizing drone operations to drop weapons and ammunition across the border into Indian territory. Jat has a prior record of capture; he was arrested by security forces in October 2008 and remained incarcerated at the Kot Bhalwal Central Jail in Jammu from 2012 until 2015. Following the completion of his sentence terms, he was formally deported back to Pakistan, where he immediately resumed his command role for JeM.

23. Mohammad Shahid Faisal

Operating under heavy operational aliases such as Ustad, Muhandis, or Zakir, Faisal holds Pakistani nationality, though he was originally an Indian national. He is currently highly active in Rawalpindi and maintains terrifying operational links with Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Al-Qaeda, and ISIS simultaneously. Faisal is recognized as the main mastermind and handler behind the dangerous 2012 Bengaluru LeT conspiracy case and the subsequent 2013 Nanded LeT case, both of which involved highly coordinated plots for the targeted assassinations of prominent right-wing politicians and journalists. He originally fled India to Pakistan in 2013 with the direct tactical assistance of notorious terrorist Farhatullah Ghori. Ongoing intelligence investigations have revealed his extensive digital footprint as an online handler in the 2024 Rameshwaram Cafe blast case, the Mangaluru cooker blast, and the Al-Hind ISIS module case. He targets and recruits vulnerable youth by creating and spreading anti-national and jihadist videos shared across social media networks and dedicated YouTube or Telegram channels like ‘Sawat-al-Haq’.

A Comprehensive Security Framework

The implementation of these latest designations underscores the Central Government’s consistent, unyielding approach of taking the most stringent legal measures against those who dare to threaten the nation’s sovereign security.

By formally listing these 23 individuals in the strict Fourth Schedule of the UAPA, the Union Government has equipped its domestic intelligence, financial intelligence, and law enforcement agencies with significantly stronger tools. These tools allow for immediate asset freezing, network disruption, and closer coordination with international law enforcement partners like Interpol.

The Ministry of Home Affairs has made it explicitly clear that it will continue to pursue every single terror module relentlessly. The state's operations will remain active and unyielding until the threat of cross-border terrorism is completely and permanently eliminated from Indian soil.