The Union government on Thursday declared The Resistance Front, an offshoot of terror group Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a terrorist organisation under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act.
In a gazette notification, the Union home ministry said that a large number of cases have been filed against members of The Resistance Front in connection with attacks on security forces and civilians in Jammu and Kashmir and alleged transportation of weapons to proscribed terror groups.
The organisation has been engaged in online efforts to recruit young persons into terrorism, and it has been helping terrorists infiltrate into India and smuggling weapons and narcotics from Pakistan into Jammu and Kashmir, the government said.
The notification added that The Resistance Front “is involved in psychological operations on social media platforms for inciting people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against Indian State”.
The home ministry also said that Sheikh Sajjad Gul, a commander of the outfit, has been declared as a terrorist under the UAPA.
The Resistance Front came into existence in 2019 as a proxy of the Lashkar-e-Taiba. In 2021, it had claimed responsibility for the killings of five civilians in Jammu and Kashmir.
Meanwhile, the Centre on Thursday also declared Mohammed Amin alias Abu Khubaib, allegedly a commander of Lashkar-e-Taiba, as a terrorist individual under the UAPA. It accused him of coordinating terrorist attacks, supplying weapons and explosives, and financing terror operations in Jammu and Kashmir.
According to the home ministry, Khubaib played “a vital role to revive and accelerate terrorist activities of LeT in the Jammu region of Jammu and Kashmir”.
Khubaib is the 50th person to have been declared as a terrorist individual under the Act. On Thursday, the Centre had also named Kashmir-born militant Aijaz Ahmad Ahanger as a terrorist under the law.
Forty-two entities have been listed as terrorist organisations and 13 groups have been listed as unlawful associations under the Act.
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