India Declares Khalistan Tiger Force, Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force as Terrorist Organisations

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New Delhi: India on Friday declared one more individual Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda as a terrorist and two organizations -- Khalistan Tiger Force (KTF) and Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF)-- as terrorist organizations. Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) under the guidance of Union Home Minister Amit Shah took the decision reinforcing the commitment of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to strengthen national security and combat terrorism in all its forms and manifestations.

Sandhu has been associated with the terrorist organization Babbar Khalsa International (BKI) and is presently based in Lahore, Pakistan under the patronage of cross-border agencies and has been found involved in various terrorist activities, particularly in Punjab. With this declaration, now there are 54 designated terrorists in the IVth Schedule of Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).KTF is a militant outfit it aims to revive terrorism in Punjab and challenges the territorial integrity, unity, national security, and sovereignty of India, and promotes various acts of terrorism, including targeted killings in Punjab.

However, JKGF has been found involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapon smuggling and carrying out terror attacks in the Union territory of Jammu and Kashmir. It draws its cadres from various terrorist organizations, such as Lashker-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, and Harkat-ul--Jehad-E-Islami. With the declaration of these two organisations as terrorist organizations, there are now a total of 44 designated terrorist organizations under the Ist Schedule of the Act.

In furtherance of India`s `Zero Tolerance policy` towards terrorism, the Central Government amended the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) in August 2019 to include the provision of designating an individual as a terrorist. Prior to this amendment, only organizations could be designated as terrorist organizations.By invoking the amended provision, the Central Government had designated 53 individuals as terrorists.