Terror tag on Azhar, Hafiz, Dawood under new law

New Delhi: Nearly a month after Parliament amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act to declare individuals as terrorists, the Home Ministry on Wednesday designated underworld don Dawood Ibrahim along with Lashkar-e-Tayeeba founder Hafiz Saeed, chief of Jaish-e-Mohammed Maulana Masood Azhar and mastermind of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi as terrorist in the amended anti-terror law.

The four are the first to be labelled as terrorist since the UAPA was amended which could earlier designate only organisations as terror outfits. Home Ministry issued an elaborate notification giving details of the four being involved in different terror activities in India.

On Azhar the ministry’s notifications stated that he has been involved in the conspiracy and planning of several acts of terror including attacks on Parliament and Jammu and Kashmir Assembly in 2001, Pathankot Air Force station in 2016, BSF’s Srinagar camp in 2017 and the most recent attack on a CRPF convoy in Pulwama on Feb 14 in which more than 40 personnel were killed. Azhar was also designated as a global terrorist by the UN in May this year.

The notification on Hafiz Saeed listed his involvement in several cases including the one on Red Fort in 2000, CRPF camp at Rampur in Uttar Pradesh in 2007, 26/11 Mumbai terror attack which is considered one of the worst terror incident in the country and the 2015 attack on a BSF convoy in Udhampur in J&K. Apart from Lashkar, Saeed who is currently lodged in a Pakistan jail has also founded the Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD). He too has been listed as a global terrorist by the UN since, 2008.

Saeed’s close confidante and a key Lashkar operative Lakhvi is said to be mastermind behind the Mumbai terror incident and has been involved in the same cases Saeed in India. Terror outfits like Jaish, Lashkar and Jamaat are already banned in India under the UAPA.

While giving details on activities of Dawood Ibrahim, who too is on the UN’s list of global terrorists, the Home Ministry notification stated that he has been operating a global network of terrorists, narcotics, illegal arms, fake currency, extortion and religious fundamentalism and acquiring benami property both in India and other countries. The Ministry claimed that Dawood and his gang has been involved in killings to spread social disharmony and terrorise the public. He is also the mastermind of the 1993 serial blasts that rocked Mumbai killing 257 people while injuring more than a 1000 people.

Officials claimed that this move will now help India to mount further pressure on Pakistan at different international forums to take action against these individuals who are operating from their soil.