In a crackdown on cross-border terrorism, the Centre has banned two proxy organizations of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM). The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba, and People’s Anti-Fascist-Front (PAFF), a proxy organisation of Jaish-e-Mohammed, have been banned by the union government.
Along with this, four persons have been declared terrorists in the last four days. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Home Minister Amit Shah have repeatedly emphasized that the Centre is adopting a zero-tolerance policy while taking action against terror groups and terrorists. The recent actions by the union government are seen against this backdrop.
On January 5, the Home Ministry declared The Resistance Front (TRF), a proxy organization of the Pakistani terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a banned organization. The Home Ministry said the TRF has been recruiting youth through online mode for furthering terrorist activities, recruitment of terrorists, infiltration of terrorists, and smuggling of arms and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir. Starting in 2019 as a representative of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba ( LeT), the group has been involved in a number of terrorist activities, including the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
At the same time, TRF also works to incite the people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist organizations against the Government of India and conduct psychological campaigns on social media platforms. TRF commander Sheikh Sajjad Gul has already been designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act 1967, the Home ministry said. A lot of cases have also been registered against TRF members and associates.
On January 6, the Home Ministry also banned the People’s Anti-Fascist-Front (PAFF), a proxy organisation of the Pakistani terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed. This organization is involved in terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and elsewhere. The Home Ministry said the PAFF continues to issue threats to security forces, political leaders and civilians working in Jammu and Kashmir from other states. PAFF, along with other organisations, used to carry out violent terrorist activities in Jammu and Kashmir and other major cities of India and conspire through social media.
On January 4, the Home Ministry issued a notification stating that Aijaz Ahmad Ahangar alias Abu Usman al-Kashmiri is a Kashmir-born terrorist. He has links with al-Qaeda and other global terrorist groups and was preparing to turn India into an Islamic country. He has been declared a terrorist. Aijaz Ahmad, based in Afghanistan, is currently one of the major recruiters of the Islamic State Jammu and Kashmir (ISJK).
Aijaz Ahmad was born in Srinagar in 1974. He has been a wanted terrorist from Jammu and Kashmir for the last two decades. He has planned many terrorist activities in the Union Territory in collaboration with many terrorist organizations. According to the Home Ministry, Aijaz Ahmad has been working towards promoting terrorism in Kashmir and has started identifying Kashmiri people who can be included in its network. He was appointed head of the Islamic State (IS) recruitment cell for India and was instrumental in launching an online India-centric ISIS propaganda magazine.
On January 5, the Home Ministry declared Mohammad Amin Khubaib alias Abu Khubaib, a resident of Jammu and Kashmir, as a terrorist. At present, Amin is serving as the launching commander of Lashkar and has established good relations with several agencies across the border. He is playing an important role in the rapid resumption of Lashkar’s terrorist activities in Jammu. Mohammad Amin takes care of the coordination of terrorist attacks in Jammu and Kashmir from across the border, the supply of arms and explosives, and economic things related to terrorists.
On 6th January 2023, the Home Ministry also issued another notification declaring Arbaaz Ahmad Mir as a terrorist of the banned Pakistani terrorist organization Lashkar. He is a resident of Jammu and Kashmir but is currently living in Pakistan. It is being told that he was involved in all the target-killing cases that have been reported in Jammu and Kashmir in the last few months.
On January 7, the Interior Ministry declared Asif Maqbool Dar a terrorist for influencing Kashmiri youth to take up arms. Asif currently lives in Saudi Arabia. He has been in touch with terrorists in the Kashmir Valley for quite some time and has been supporting terrorists by transporting illegal arms, ammunition and explosives from across the border.
The Ministry of Home Affairs has announced that Asif Maqbool is involved in inciting the youth of Kashmir Valley to terrorist activities using social media platforms. He is associated with the banned terror group Hizb-ul-Mujahideen and is one of the major radical fundamentalist Islamist voices on social media. At the same time, he instigates Kashmiri youth to take up arms against the security forces.
Investigations by the National Investigation Agency have found that he has links with a conspiracy hatched by cadres of the organisation carrying out violent terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir. He has been found guilty of activities in several major cities, including New Delhi.
