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Internal Security July 04, 2026 4 min read Daily brief · #4 of 22

MHA tags 17 from Pakistan and 6 Indians 'individual terrorists'

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on July 4, 2026, designated 23 individuals as 'individual terrorists' under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA...

GS Paper 2 (Governance International Relations) GS Paper 3 (Internal Security)

What Happened

  • The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) on July 4, 2026, designated 23 individuals as 'individual terrorists' under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), 1967, through an official gazette notification.
  • Of the 23 designated individuals, 17 are Pakistani nationals and 6 are Indian nationals — all operating from Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir (PoJK).
  • The designated operatives are affiliated with banned organisations including Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and The Resistance Front (TRF).
  • Several individuals are linked to major attacks on Indian soil, including the Nagrota Army camp attack, the Sunjwan Military Station attack, and the 2024 Rameshwaram Cafe blast in Bengaluru.
  • With this notification, the total number of individuals designated as terrorists under UAPA rose to 80.

Static Topic Bridges

UAPA Individual Terrorist Designation — Section 35 and the 2019 Amendment

The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, was originally enacted to deal with secessionist movements threatening India's sovereignty and territorial integrity following the 16th Constitutional Amendment (1963). Its scope widened through successive amendments: the 2004 amendment introduced terrorism provisions (Chapter IV, Sections 15–23), and the 2008 amendment strengthened these after the Mumbai attacks. The landmark Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 2019, inserted the power to designate individuals (not just organisations) as terrorists by adding them to the Fourth Schedule of the Act.

  • Section 35 of UAPA empowers the Central Government to add an individual's name to the Fourth Schedule, designating them as a 'terrorist'.
  • Section 36 provides a review mechanism — a Review Committee constituted by the Central Government (not a court) examines challenges to designation.
  • Consequences of designation: asset freeze and seizure, impounding of passport, travel restrictions, embargo on arms transactions, and blocking of financial dealings.
  • The NIA (National Investigation Agency) and officers of Inspector rank and above are empowered to investigate and seize properties linked to designated terrorists.
  • The 2019 amendment has been challenged in the Supreme Court (Sajal Awasthi v. Union of India) on grounds that the review mechanism lacks judicial independence and violates Article 21 (right to life and personal liberty).

Connection to this news: The MHA used exactly this Section 35 power to gazette-notify all 23 individuals as terrorists, triggering asset-freeze and financial-blocking consequences without a prior judicial order.

Banned Terrorist Organisations — LeT, JeM, JuD, and TRF

Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) was founded in 1990 by Hafiz Muhammad Saeed as the armed wing of Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad in Pakistan. Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) was founded in 2000 by Maulana Masood Azhar after his release from Indian custody. Both organisations are designated as terrorist entities under UAPA's First Schedule and are proscribed by the United Nations Security Council under Resolution 1267 (1999), which established the Al-Qaeda/Taliban sanctions regime requiring all UN member states to impose asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes. The Resistance Front (TRF) is a shadow proxy outfit linked to LeT that emerged in 2019 to provide deniability for attacks in the Kashmir Valley.

  • LeT is headquartered in Muridke, Pakistan; JeM is based in Bahawalpur, Pakistan.
  • UN Security Council Resolution 1267 (1999) established the consolidated sanctions list; Resolution 1989 (2011) split it into separate Al-Qaeda and Taliban lists.
  • Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) is the parent charity front of LeT; it was placed on the UNSC sanctions list in 2008.
  • India has separately designated these organisations under the UAPA First Schedule (banned organisations), distinct from the Fourth Schedule (individual terrorists).

Connection to this news: The 23 individuals are operatives of these already-banned organisations; their individual designation now enables enforcement actions against personal assets and finances even when organisational asset-blocking is insufficient.

India-Pakistan Cross-Border Terrorism — The Security Dimension

Cross-border terrorism originating from Pakistani territory has been a persistent source of bilateral tension. India's policy has shifted from diplomatic engagement to a strategy of targeted legal and financial pressure — including pushing for FATF (Financial Action Task Force) grey-listing of Pakistan (achieved 2018–2022) for inadequate action against terror financing. Individual designations under domestic law complement India's diplomatic efforts at international forums to hold Pakistan-based terror networks accountable.

  • India is a member of the FATF Asia Pacific Group; FATF grey-listing restricts a country's access to international financial systems.
  • Pakistan was on the FATF grey list from June 2018 to October 2022.
  • The NIA Act, 2008, gives the National Investigation Agency jurisdiction to investigate terror offences across India without state government consent.
  • Cross-LoC infiltration, drone-dropped weapons, and hawala financing are the primary operational methods of these networks.

Connection to this news: Individual designation under UAPA legally empowers the NIA to freeze finances and seize properties of these 23 operatives within India — directly disrupting their domestic support networks.

Key Facts & Data

  • Total individuals designated as terrorists under UAPA as of July 2026: 80
  • Breakdown of latest batch: 17 Pakistani nationals, 6 Indian nationals (all operating from Pakistan/PoJK)
  • Organisational links: JeM (10 individuals), LeT (13 individuals); some with additional ties to TRF, JuD, Al-Qaeda
  • UAPA enacted: 1967 (original); key amendment adding individual designation: 2019
  • Section empowering individual designation: Section 35, UAPA; relevant schedule: Fourth Schedule
  • UN Resolution establishing Al-Qaeda/Taliban sanctions regime: UNSC Resolution 1267 (1999)
  • Review mechanism under UAPA: Review Committee (executive body, not a court)
  • FATF grey-listing of Pakistan: June 2018 to October 2022
  • 2016 Pathankot Air Force Station attack: killed 9 security personnel, attributed to JeM
  • 2024 Rameshwaram Cafe blast (Bengaluru): 8 injured; one designated individual (Mohammad Shahid Faisal) linked as handler
On this page
  1. What Happened
  2. Static Topic Bridges
  3. UAPA Individual Terrorist Designation — Section 35 and the 2019 Amendment
  4. Banned Terrorist Organisations — LeT, JeM, JuD, and TRF
  5. India-Pakistan Cross-Border Terrorism — The Security Dimension
  6. Key Facts & Data
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