Centre names 23 Jaish, Lashkar operatives as terrorists, cites J-K attack links

The Central Government issued a gazette notification on July 4, 2026, designating 23 individuals as 'terrorists' under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) A...

What Happened

The Central Government issued a gazette notification on July 4, 2026, designating 23 individuals as 'terrorists' under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, citing direct links to attacks in Jammu and Kashmir.
The designated individuals include operatives of Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), with some also linked to The Resistance Front (TRF) and Al-Qaeda.
Several operatives are specifically linked to attacks on military installations: the Nagrota Army camp attack, the Sunjwan Military Station attack, and a police checkpoint attack near Jammu in 2022.
One designated individual, Mohammad Shahid Faisal, is listed as a handler connected to multiple attacks including the 2024 Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru — marking a southern India nexus.
Another operative, Mohammad Musaddiq, allegedly conducted reconnaissance of sensitive targets including the Ram Janmabhoomi complex in Ayodhya, the RSS headquarters in Nagpur, and an IOCL refinery in Panipat.

Static Topic Bridges

UAPA: From Organisational to Individual Designation

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, is India's primary counterterrorism statute. It was enacted with the original aim of curbing secessionist movements threatening national integrity, drawing authority from the 16th Constitutional Amendment (1963) and Article 19(2) of the Constitution, which permits reasonable restrictions on free speech in the interest of the sovereignty and integrity of India. The statute has been progressively amended — most importantly through the 2004, 2008, and 2019 amendments — to transform it into a comprehensive anti-terror law.

Original enactment: December 30, 1967 (assented to by the President).
2004 Amendment: Added Chapter IV (Sections 15–23) defining terrorist acts and specifying punishments.
2008 Amendment: Strengthened provisions post-Mumbai attacks; introduced stricter bail conditions.
2019 Amendment: Inserted power under Section 35 to designate individuals as terrorists and add them to the Fourth Schedule — this was the key structural change.
Designation consequences: freeze of financial assets, passport impounding, travel restrictions, arms embargo, and disruption of financing networks.
The Central Government review mechanism (Section 36) — not a court — hears de-listing appeals, raising judicial independence concerns.

Connection to this news: Each of the 23 operatives now enters the Fourth Schedule, enabling enforcement authorities to freeze their assets and disrupt their financial and logistical networks even without a criminal conviction.

Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) — Origins, Structure, and Terror Record

Jaish-e-Mohammed (Army of Muhammad) was founded in February 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar in Bahawalpur, Pakistan, following his release from Indian custody in the Kandahar hijacking prisoner exchange. JeM carries out suicide bombings, fidayeen attacks, and infiltration operations, primarily targeting Indian security forces in Jammu and Kashmir and occasionally striking deeper into the Indian mainland.

JeM is designated a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) by the United States and a proscribed entity under UNSC Resolution 1267.
Masood Azhar was listed as a global terrorist by the UN Security Council in May 2019 — a process blocked by China three times before being allowed.
Major JeM attacks: 2001 Indian Parliament attack (with LeT), 2016 Pathankot Air Force Station attack, 2019 Pulwama CRPF convoy bombing (40 CRPF personnel killed).
JeM's Nagrota Army camp attack (November 2016) is directly cited in the July 2026 designation notification.

Connection to this news: Multiple newly designated individuals are senior JeM commanders and launching operatives, reinforcing that JeM's operational network extends into both J&K and mainland India.

The Resistance Front (TRF) — LeT's Shadow Proxy

The Resistance Front emerged in 2019 as an offshoot and proxy of Lashkar-e-Taiba, operating primarily in the Kashmir Valley. TRF was created to conduct targeted killings of civilians — particularly migrant workers, minorities, and government employees — while giving LeT and Pakistani state actors a degree of deniability. TRF uses social media for radicalization and local recruitment, reducing the need for visible cross-border infiltration.

TRF was designated a terrorist organisation by India under UAPA in 2022.
It operates primarily through locally recruited operatives, exploiting communication via encrypted apps.
Some of the 23 newly designated individuals hold dual affiliations with both LeT and TRF.
TRF has been cited in targeted killing sprees in 2021–2024 in the Kashmir Valley.

Connection to this news: The TRF link among the designated individuals illustrates the layered proxy architecture used by Pakistan-based terror networks — banned parent organisations use front proxies to extend reach and reduce accountability.

Key Facts & Data

Total UAPA-designated individual terrorists as of July 2026: 80
July 2026 batch: 23 individuals — 17 Pakistani nationals, 6 Indian nationals
JeM-linked in this batch: 10 individuals; LeT-linked: 13 individuals
Nagrota Army camp attack: November 2016 — JeM attack on 166 Battalion Army camp, J&K
Sunjwan Military Station attack: February 2018 — LeT/JeM fidayeen assault, 6 soldiers killed
Masood Azhar listed as UN global terrorist: May 2019 (after four Chinese vetoes)
JeM founding: February 2000, Bahawalpur, Pakistan (Maulana Masood Azhar)
LeT founding: 1990, Pakistan (Hafiz Muhammad Saeed)
TRF designated under UAPA: 2022
Section empowering designation: Section 35 UAPA; relevant schedule: Fourth Schedule
UAPA enacted: 1967; 2019 Amendment enabling individual designation: August 8, 2019