The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on Saturday designated 23 Pakistan-based operatives, linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), The Resistance Front (TRF) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), as individual terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, in one of the largest single expansions of India’s terror-designation list in recent years.
The action, taken under Section 35 of the UAPA, pushes the total number of individuals designated as terrorists under the Act’s Fourth Schedule from 57 to 80. In a series of notifications, the Ministry said the 23 individuals were involved in a wide sweep of terror-related activity — planning and executing attacks, recruitment and radicalisation, infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir, terror financing, arms smuggling, logistics management and facilitating cross-border terrorism against India.
Who Are the 23: JeM and LeT Split
According to the Ministry, 10 of the newly designated individuals are affiliated with JeM, while 13 are linked to LeT, with some also carrying dual associations to TRF and JuD. Officials said the operatives played key roles in recruiting and training terrorists, facilitating infiltration into Jammu and Kashmir, planning attacks on security forces and civilians, delivering weapons and explosives via drones and cross-border networks, raising funds, and maintaining logistical and operational infrastructure for their parent organisations.
Eleven of the 23 designated individuals are originally natives of Jammu and Kashmir who are now based across the border. The MHA said seven of these J&K natives are currently in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK), while four are residing in Pakistan proper. Among those named from PoK are Masood Ilyas Kashmiri of Rawalkot, Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan of Abbaspur, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor of Kotli, Abdullah Jehadi of Neelum Valley, and Ghulam Fareed of Bhimber.
“Mussadiq is involved in carrying out a wide range of terrorist activities against the country, including supplying arms and ammunition through drones across the border, planning terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir… and handling a team of Jaish-e-Mohammed cyber operatives.”
The Hafiz Saeed Connection
Three of the newly designated operatives are described by the MHA as close aides of LeT founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed. Abdul Rauf, a senior LeT and JuD member, Hafiz Khalid Waleed, another senior LeT and JuD leader, and Rana Iftikhar, who is said to coordinate militant activities on Saeed’s behalf, feature prominently on the list. LeT has been designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the United States since December 2001 and was listed by the United Nations as a terrorist entity in May 2005, making these fresh Indian designations part of a broader, long-running international consensus on the network.
Nagrota and Sunjwan: The Attack Linkages
The government has directly tied several of the newly designated JeM operatives to two of the deadliest attacks on security installations in Jammu in the last decade. Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan, alias Abu Saad, described as a launching commander for JeM terrorists entering Jammu and Kashmir, has been named one of the alleged masterminds of the 2016 attack on the Army camp at Nagrota, in which seven soldiers were killed. Abdullah Jehadi, accused of running training camps across the border, has also been linked to the Nagrota attack and other incidents.
Separately, both Masood Ilyas Kashmiri and Mohammad Mussadiq — the latter alias “Doctor” — have been connected by investigators to the 2022 attack on the Sunjwan Military Station, also in Jammu. Mussadiq has additionally been accused of overseeing a JeM cyber cell that uses social media platforms to recruit youth into the organisation.
The Bengaluru-to-Rawalpindi Case
One name stands out for its domestic Indian origin: Mohammed Shaheed Faisal, originally from Bengaluru but now based in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. The MHA notification alleges he maintains simultaneous links with LeT, JeM, Al-Qaeda and ISIS modules, and has been involved in online radicalisation, recruiting youth through social media, arranging weapons training in Pakistan, raising funds, training operatives in encrypted communications and fake identities, and facilitating arms deliveries.
TRF: A “Front and Proxy” for LeT
The notifications also touch on The Resistance Front, which has claimed responsibility for several attacks in Jammu and Kashmir in recent years while presenting itself as a homegrown militant outfit. The MHA has consistently maintained that TRF is not an independent organisation but a front and proxy of LeT, created by LeT handlers to give a localised, less overtly Islamist face to Pakistan-backed operations while attempting to dodge international scrutiny. Recent international assessments, including those from the United States, have echoed this characterisation of TRF as an LeT proxy.
Key Names on the List
- Abdul Rauf — Senior LeT/JuD leader, close aide of Hafiz Saeed
- Hafiz Khalid Waleed — Senior LeT/JuD leader
- Rana Iftikhar — Coordinates militant activity for LeT leadership
- Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan (Abu Saad) — JeM launching commander; alleged Nagrota mastermind
- Mohammad Mussadiq (“Doctor”) — JeM handler; linked to Sunjwan attack
- Masood Ilyas Kashmiri — Senior JeM leader based in Rawalkot, PoK
- Mohammed Shaheed Faisal — Bengaluru-origin operative now in Rawalpindi; LeT/JeM/Al-Qaeda/ISIS links
- Abdullah Jehadi, Ghulam Fareed, Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki, Waseem Noor Jat — JeM operatives tied to infiltration and drone arms supply
What a UAPA Designation Actually Changes
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act originally allowed the central government to proscribe only organisations, not individuals. That changed with a 2019 amendment, which armed the Centre with the power to designate specific persons as terrorists. Once notified, the designation gives the National Investigation Agency (NIA) and other central agencies the ability to freeze the individual’s banking channels, block arms transactions linked to them, and seize any property or assets they hold within India — even though the named individuals are based abroad and largely outside the physical reach of Indian law enforcement.
| Category | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total newly designated | 23 individuals |
| Linked to JeM | 10 individuals |
| Linked to LeT | 13 individuals |
| Originally from J&K, now based abroad | 11 individuals |
| Based in PoK | 7 individuals |
| Based in Pakistan | 4 individuals |
| Total designated terrorists (post-notification) | 80 (up from 57) |
| Legal provision invoked | Section 35, UAPA, 1967 |
The Bigger Picture
The Centre has said it exercised its powers under Section 35 after concluding that all 23 individuals were actively involved in terrorism and in activities prejudicial to India’s security and sovereignty. The move comes against a backdrop of continued Indian and international scrutiny of Pakistan’s record on cross-border militancy, with recent assessments — including from the United States — repeatedly flagging Pakistani territory as a persistent safe harbour for anti-India terror networks. For New Delhi, Saturday’s notification is being framed less as a one-off crackdown and more as a continuation of a now well-established strategy: going after the individual financiers, trainers, recruiters and handlers who keep the JeM-LeT-TRF ecosystem running, even when the organisations themselves are already banned.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many individuals has the MHA designated as terrorists under UAPA in this latest notification?
The Ministry of Home Affairs designated 23 Pakistan-based operatives as individual terrorists under Section 35 of the UAPA on July 4, 2026, taking the total number of designated individual terrorists under the Fourth Schedule of the Act from 57 to 80.
Which terror organisations are the 23 newly designated individuals linked to?
Ten of the 23 individuals are affiliated with Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), while 13 are linked to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with some also associated with The Resistance Front (TRF) and Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD).
What powers does a UAPA terrorist designation give Indian authorities?
Once designated, the National Investigation Agency and other central agencies can freeze the individual’s financial assets, impose an embargo on arms transactions, and seize their property across the country.
When did India begin designating individuals, rather than just organisations, as terrorists under UAPA?
The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act was amended in August 2019 to empower the central government to designate individuals as terrorists. Before this amendment, only organisations could be proscribed under the law.
Are any of the newly designated individuals connected to past attacks on Indian security forces?
Yes. The government has linked several of the newly designated JeM operatives to the 2016 terror attack on the Army camp at Nagrota, Jammu, and to the 2022 attack on the Sunjwan Military Station, also in Jammu.
UAPAMHAJaish-e-MohammedLashkar-e-TaibaHafiz SaeedJammu & KashmirNIANational Security
This report is based on official Ministry of Home Affairs notifications and gazette filings reported as of July 4, 2026. Names, aliases and locations reflect government disclosures at the time of publication and may be subject to updates as further details emerge.
