Ministry of Home Affairs on Wednesday proscribed Jaish-e-Mohammad chief Maulana Masood Azhar, Jamaat-ud-Dawa chief Hafiz Saeed, chief operational commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba Zaki-ur-Rahman Lakhvi and 1993 Mumbai blasts mastermind Dawood Ibrahim as terrorists under UAPA. The MHA issued a gazette notification saying Maulana Masood Azhar, is founder, chief and key leader of proscribed terrorist organisation Jaish-e-Mohammad, which is listed as a terrorist organisation under the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 at serial number 6.
The notification added that JeM under the patronage of Azhar, extensively undertakes recruitment drives for terrorist activities and his preaching wings regularly organise events in order to urge people to promote terrorism and support their actions against India. According to MHA, Azhar is accused in various cases registered and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency and chargesheet had been filed against him in Pathankot air base attack case.
The MHA's notification said that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is founder, chief and key leader of proscribed terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) / Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and LeT is listed as a terrorist organisation under the First Schedule to the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967 at serial No. 5. Saeed has been involved in various terrorist attacks in India, which include Red Fort attack (22nd December, 2000), Rampur attack (1st January, 2008), 26/11 Mumbai attack and attack on BSF Convoy at Udhampur in Jammu & Kashmir (5th August, 2015).
The MHA said that Saeed is accused in various cases registered and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency, which inter-alia include Jammu and Kashmir terror conspiracy and terror funding case and Dukhtaran-E-Millat case and chargesheet had been filed against him in Headley case (26/11 Mumbai terror attack).
The MHA said in its notification that Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi is the chief operational commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and also one of its founder members. Lakhvi has been involved in various terrorist attacks in India, including the Red Fort attack (22nd December, 2000),Rampur attack (1st January, 2008), 26/11 Mumbai attack (26-28 Nov.2008) and attack on BSF Convoy at Udhampur in Jammu & Kashmir (5th August, 2015).
According to MHA, Lakhvi is accused in various cases registered and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency, which inter-alia include LeT Abu Jundal case and Udhampur terror attack on BSF convoy and chargesheet had been filed against him in Headley case (26/11 Mumbai terror attack).
The MHA also declared underworld don Dawood Ibrahim as a terrorist under UAPA and said that Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar runs an international underworld crime syndicate and is involved in perpetrating acts of terror, promoting religious fundamentalism, terror financing, arms smuggling, circulation
of counterfeit currency, money laundering, narcotics, extortion and benami real estate business in India and abroad and is also involved in assassination attempts on prominent personalities to create social disharmony and terrorise common man.
The MHA's notification added that Dawood Ibrahim is designated as a Global terrorist by the United Nations under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 and he is listed in Al-Qaida sanction list on the 3rd November, 2003.
The notification also added that Al-Qaeda Sanction Committee of United Nations Security Council had listed Dawood Ibrahim for participating in the financing, planning, facilitating, preparing or perpetrating of acts or activities by, in conjunction with, under the name of, on behalf or in
support of, supplying, selling or transferring arms and related material or otherwise supporting acts or activities of Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.
According to notification, a series of bomb blasts were executed by Dawood Ibrahim and his associates in Mumbai in March 1993, which resulted in deaths of 257 persons and injured over 1000 persons apart from destruction of properties on a massive scale. An Arrest warrant was issued on the 1st April, 1993 by the judicial authorities in Mumbai and Red Corner Notice No. A-135/4/1993 was also issued against Dawood in 1993 Mumbai serial bomb blast case.
The notification said that Indian government believes that Dawood is involved in terrorism and he is to be notified as a terrorist under the said Act.
