US Commends India For Declaring Hafiz Saeed, Dawood As Terrorists Under New Anti-Terror Law

The United States on Thursday said that it stands with India for using new anti-terror law to designate Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed as terrorists. Taking to Twitter, US government's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs wrote, "We stand with India & commend it for utilizing new legal authorities to designate 4 notorious terrorists: Maulana Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed, Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi & Dawood Ibrahim. This new law expands possibilities for joint #USIndia efforts to combat scourge of terrorism (sic)."

Earlier, Masood Azhar was declared individual terrorist by the government under a new anti-terror law. Apart from Azhar, Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Zaki Ur Rehman Lakhvi and Bombay terror attack mastermind Dawood Ibrahim have also declared terrorists under The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act (UAPA). 

The decisions were taken nearly a month after Parliament approved a crucial amendment to The Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Amendment Act, 1967. "And whereas, the central government believes that Maulana Masood Azhar is involved in terrorism and Maulana Masood Azhar is to be notified as a terrorist under the said Act... And whereas, the central government believes that Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is involved in terrorism and Hafiz Muhammad Saeed is to be notified as a terrorist under the said Act..," a Home Ministry notification said.

The ministry cited a series of terror acts in which Pakistan-based Azhar was involved that include attack on the Jammu and Kashmir Assembly complex in 2001, attack on Parliament in 2001, attack on Pathankot air base in 2016 attacks on BSF camp in Srinagar in 2017 and explosion of a CRPF bus at Pulwama on February 14. It said Azhar was also designated as a global terrorist by the UN under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 on May 1, 2019 and was declared as a proclaimed offender by the special judge (POTA), New Delhi.

On Saeed, the home ministry said he was involved in various attacks including Red Fort in 2000, a CRPF camp in Rampur (Uttar Pradesh), India's worst terror strike in Mumbai in 2008 in which 166 people were killed and the attack on a BSF convoy at Udhampur in Jammu and Kashmir in 2015.

Saeed, also the founder of Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD), was designated as a global terrorist by the UN under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 on December 10, 2008.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Masood Azhar was declared individual terrorist by the government under a new anti-terror law.
• Lashkar-e-Taiba founder Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, Zaki Ur Rehman Lakhvi were declared terrorists.
• US government's Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs commended India in a Tweet.