The Union government on Saturday designated Dr Asif Maqbool Dar as a terrorist over association with the terrorist organisation Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen.
Dar has been designated as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). The UAPA was amended in 2019 to give the Union government powers to designate an individual as terrorist as well. Earlier, only organisations could be designated as terrorist organisations.
Dar is currently based in Saudi Arabia and is part of Hizb's terrorist activities in India, according to the Union Home Ministry's notification on Saturday.
The designation of Dar as a terrorist came a day after the Centre also designated The Resistance Front (TRF) as a banned terrorist organisation. The TRF has claimed a number of acts of terror in Kashmir in recent years and is seen as a proxy of the terrorist group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
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Who is Dr Asif Maqbool Dar?
Dr Asif Maqbool Dar is now a designated terrorist. He is currently based in Saudi Arabia.
Dar is associated with Hizb-Ul-Mujahideen, according to the Centre's notification. The Hizb has been designated a terrorist organisation for over two decades.
"The Hizb-ul-Mujahideen stands for the integration of J&K with Pakistan. Since its inception, the HM has also campaigned for the Islamisation of Kashmir," notes South Asia Terroris Portal (SATP).
Dar was born on December 2, 1981, and originally belonged to the village of Bandey Payeen in tehsil Wagoora in district Baramula, Jammu and Kashmir, as per the MHA's notification.
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The notification said Dar is among the "leading radical voices on social media" that instigate youth to take up violence.
The MHA said, "Dr. Asif Maqbool Dar is in involved in instigating or provoking the youth of Kashmir Valley for terrorist activities by using social media platforms...Dr. Asif Maqbool Dar is one of the leading radical voices on social media and involved in nefariously influencing Kashmiri youth to take up arms against Indian Government and Security Forces."
The notification further said that Dar is currently under investigation by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).
"Dr. Asif Maqbool Dar is accused in a case investigated by the National Investigating Agency relating to conspiracy hatched by the cadres of terrorist organisation to undertake violent terrorist act in Jammu and Kashmir and major cities in India including New Delhi on the direction of handlers based across the border," said the MHA notification.
