# India designates 23 Pakistan-based JeM and LeT operatives as terrorists under UAPA, raising total to 80 > India's Ministry of Home Affairs gazette-notified 23 individuals linked to Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba on July 4; 17 are Pakistani nationals, 6 are Indian nationals operating from Pakistan-controlled territory **Meta:** type: event · date: 2026-07-04 · heads: Who Decides, What They're Not Saying · 7 takes · 4 lenses · 3 regions ## Summary India's Ministry of Home Affairs designated 23 individuals as individual terrorists under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act on July 4, bringing India's total of officially designated individual terrorists to 80. All 23 are linked to Pakistan-based militant groups: 17 are Pakistani nationals and 6 are Indian nationals operating from Pakistan or Pakistan-occupied Jammu and Kashmir. Named operatives include Masood Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Mussadiq (alias "Doctor") from Jaish-e-Mohammed, and Hafiz Abdul Shakoor from Lashkar-e-Taiba. The gazette notification follows the post-Operation Sindoor ceasefire of May 10, 2025, and signals that New Delhi's diplomatic de-escalation with Islamabad has not translated into a relaxation of its pressure on Pakistan-based militant networks. India's broader counter-terror legal architecture has expanded since the 2019 UAPA amendment that introduced individual (as opposed to only organisational) designation. ## The split India frames the designations as legitimate counter-terrorism law enforcement and positions them within the post-Sindoor normalisation on its own terms: India's reading is that the ceasefire was a Pakistani concession, not a bilateral reset that suspended Indian counter-terrorism measures. Pakistan's Foreign Ministry has a standing position that India uses UAPA to stigmatise Pakistani citizens and suppress legitimate Kashmiri political activity; Islamabad is likely to file a formal protest through diplomatic channels. The Chinese angle matters: Beijing has repeatedly blocked India's attempts to list Pakistan-based JeM and LeT operatives at the UN Security Council 1267 sanctions committee, making domestic UAPA designations India's primary available legal instrument for the individuals China shields at the UN level. ## By the numbers - 23, individuals newly designated under UAPA Section 35 on July 4 - 80, total individual UAPA designations since the authority was created in 2019 - 17, Pakistani nationals in the July 4 batch - 6, Indian nationals operating from Pakistan or PoJK - May 10, 2025, the date of the India-Pakistan ceasefire following Operation Sindoor - 0, known cases where China has approved an India-initiated UN Security Council designation of a JeM or LeT operative ## Why it matters Individual designations under UAPA allow India to impose asset freezes, travel bans, and information-sharing obligations on named individuals without a criminal conviction, and to request reciprocal action from partner states. The growing list creates a legal record that India can use in bilateral engagements with the US, UAE, and UK, all of which have their own domestic terror designation authorities and have been urged by India to list Pakistan-based JeM and LeT operatives. The action also signals that India's domestic political environment has not shifted toward normalisation with Pakistan despite the ceasefire, maintaining the pressure on Islamabad to show verifiable action against groups operating from its soil. ## What to watch - Pakistan's formal diplomatic response and whether Islamabad requests de-escalation via back channels. - Whether India presses allies (US, UK, UAE) to mirror any of the 23 designations under their own domestic authorities. - The India-Pakistan back-channel status: whether the May 2025 ceasefire produces a sustained diplomatic dialogue or remains a narrow military arrangement. - India's posture at upcoming UN Security Council sessions on the 1267 Committee, and whether India coordinates with the US to pressure China on blocking Pakistan-related listings. ## Regional takes (batched by bias / lens) ### Indian nationalist-leaning news channel - **India TV News** (India, en) — India TV News reported the gazette notification in full, listing 17 Pakistani nationals and 6 Indian nationals, with named operatives including Masood Ilyas Kashmiri and Muhammad Mussadiq from JeM and Hafiz Abdul Shakoor from LeT; the outlet framed the designation as a follow-through on India's post-Operation Sindoor commitment to name and track Pakistan-based terror infrastructure regardless of the May 2025 ceasefire. > "Centre designates 23 Pakistan-based individuals linked to JeM, LeT as terrorists under UAPA." Source: https://www.indiatvnews.com/news/india/centre-designates-23-pakistan-based-individuals-linked-to-jem-let-as-terrorists-under-uapa-2026-07-04-1047085 ### RSS-affiliated Indian press - **Organiser** (India, en) — The Organiser, affiliated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, covered the designations as part of India's broader doctrine of 'zero tolerance to terrorism' and highlighted the inclusion of Jaish-e-Mohammed's Masood Ilyas Kashmiri as the most high-profile designation; the outlet noted this is the single largest batch of UAPA individual designations since the act was amended in 2019. > "Home Ministry designates 23 LeT and JeM operatives, reaffirms zero tolerance to terrorism." Source: https://organiser.org/2026/07/04/363148/bharat/home-ministry-designates-23-let-reaffirms-zero-tolerance-to-terrorism/ ### Indian conservative commentary - **PGurus** (India, en) — PGurus covered the designations with analysis of the legal mechanism: individual designation under UAPA Section 35 allows asset freezes and travel bans without a court conviction, and India has used the authority increasingly as a complement to UN Security Council listing requests that are often blocked by China when targeting Pakistan-linked groups. > "India uses UAPA to designate operatives China protects at the UN Security Council." Source: https://www.pgurus.com/centre-designates-23-pakistan-based-individuals-linked-to-jem-let-as-terrorists-under-uapa ### unlabelled - **The Hindu** (India, en) — Source: https://www.thehindu.com/news/national/india-designates-23-jem-let-operatives-uapa-2026/ - **Indian Express** (India, en) — Source: https://www.indianexpress.com/article/india/uapa-designations-pakistan-jem-let-july-2026/ - **Dawn (Pakistan)** (Pakistan, en) — Source: https://www.dawn.com/news/india-uapa-designations-2026 - **Reuters** (United Kingdom, en) — Source: https://www.reuters.com/world/india/india-designates-23-individuals-terrorists-july-2026/ ## Across the graph - Related: [[afghanistan-pakistan-conflict-2026]], [[india-russia-crude-record-jun29]] - Entities: India, Country:pakistan, Person:narendra Modi, Person:shehbaz Sharif --- Canonical: https://rbtfl.xyz/en/n/india-uapa-pakistan-terror-jul4