MHA declares 23 Pakistan-based operatives linked to JeM, LeT and other groups as terrorists under UAPA. (File photo)

NEW DELHI: The ministry of home affairs (MHA) designated 23 Pakistan-based individuals linked to terror organisations, including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), as terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), according to a series of gazette notifications issued on Friday.The Centre exercised its powers under Section 35 of the UAPA, which allows the government to add individuals to the Fourth Schedule of the Act if it believes they are involved in terrorism.Among those designated are Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, Mohammad Mussadiq, Mufti Muhammad Asghar Khan, Hafiz Abdul Shakoor, Abdullah Jehadi, Firdous Ahmad Bhat, Ghulam Fareed, Bilal Ahmad Mir, Abid Quyoom Lone, Nazir Ahmed Gujjar, Abdul Rauf, Ashfaq Ahmad, Hafiz Khalid Waleed, Maulana Saifullah Khalid, Mohammad Yaqoob, Molana Yousaf Taibi, Owais Farooz, Qari Yaqub Sheikh, Rana Iftikhar, Waseem Noor Jat, Mohammed Shaheed Faisal, Maulana Imdad Ullah Makki and Haroon Rashid Ganai.One of the notifications identified Masood Ilyas Kashmiri, also known by multiple aliases, as a senior functionary of Jaish-e-Mohammed, a terrorist organisation already listed under the First Schedule of the UAPA.According to the notification, Masood Ilyas Kashmiri is based in Rawalkot in Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK) and has been involved in recruiting youth for JeM, imparting terrorist training and facilitating the infiltration of terrorists into India.The MHA also said he was involved in the April 22, 2022, terror attack on security forces at Sunjwan in Jammu and has been linked to several other terror attacks that caused deaths and injuries.The notification stated that the Central Government believes Masood Ilyas Kashmiri is involved in terrorism and has therefore added his name to the Fourth Schedule of the UAPA.The remaining 22 individuals were designated through separate notifications issued under the same provisions of the Act. According to the government, all are based in Pakistan and are linked to banned terrorist organisations, including JeM and LeT.The designation under the UAPA formally notifies these individuals as terrorists under Indian law and enables authorities to take legal and investigative action against their assets, networks and activities linked to terrorism.