A proposed amendment in the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) which has been lying with the Cabinet Secretariat, Government of India for years, may only get taken up once the new Government is formed.
The amendment, if made, would allow India to designate individuals as global terrorists. As of now, India can only designate organisations as global terrorists.
The amendment gains significance as United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has recently designated Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief – Masood Azhar as global terrorist. For the records, UNSC has the authority to designate individuals as global terrorist.
Speaking on designation of Masood Azhar as global terrorist, a Home Ministry Spokesperson said, “At the international level, there has been (unprecedented) solidarity. Earlier, it was one country (China) versus the committee (UNSC). This time, the big three (US, France and Russia) came together and sided with India. If China had not come in the way, Azhar would have been designated long back in a routine manner by the UNSC.”
Unlike India, the United States (U.S.) Department of States and Department of Treasury can designate individuals as terrorists, imposing travel ban, arms embargo and freezing of assets. The Hizbul Mujahideen Chief – Syed Salahuddin and Islamic State (IS) recruiter from Bhatkal in Karnataka – Shafi Armar have been designated as terrorist by U.S.
Besides, the European Union (EU) can also list persons, groups and entities as global terrorists.
The move to amend the UAPA was initiated by the Union Home Ministry in 2016. The decision was taken after large number of youths started moving from to different parts of India to Syria and Iraq for joining IS. Approximately 85 persons have been arrested by the National Investigation Agency (NIA) for their alleged links to IS but not all have been directly affiliated to the organisation.
The Bill, once cleared by Parliament, will help India to declare likes of Dawood Ibrahim, Azhar Masood and Hafiz Saeed as global terrorists. Hafiz Saeed is the Co-Founder of Pakistan based terror group, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and was responsible for 2008 Mumbai terror attack. Masood Azhar has been involved in the killing of 40 Central reserve Polices Forces (CRPF) personnel in Pulwama. Dawood Ibrahim, the international don who was involved in 1993 serial bomb blasts in Mumbai and is currently living in Pakistan. For the records, Dawood Ibrahim, his brother – Anis Ibrahim, close associates Chhota Shakeel and Aziz Moosa have already been declared as terrorist by U.S.
As far as terror organisations are concerned, India has so far banned 41 terrorist organisations under Section 35 of UAPA. Islamic State in Khorasan Province / ISIS Wilayat Khorasan and Al-Qaida in Indian Subcontinent are the latest to join the list.
