Govt bans Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force for terror acts

The Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Forcehas been involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapon smuggling, carrying out terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, and regularly issuing threats to security forces.

New Delhi: In a significant move to make Jammu and Kashmir free from any kind of terrorism, the Union Ministry of Home Department has banned the Jammu and Kashmir Ghaznavi Force (JKGF). The organisation has been banned under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act-1967.With the banning of JKGF the total number of banned organisations in the valley reached 43.

According to the notification issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs, the banned organisation that surfaced three years back has been actively recruiting people from terrorists organisations like Lashker-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed, Tehreek-ul-Mujahideen, Harkat-ul—Jehad-E-Islami. The ban will be effective to JKGF and all its manifestations and front organisations.

According to a notification issued by the Union Home Ministry, the JKGF has been involved in infiltration bids, narcotics and weapon smuggling, carrying out terror attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, and regularly issuing threats to security forces. The home ministry said the JKGF has been using various social media platforms to incite the people of Jammu and Kashmir to join terrorist outfits against India.

The terror group is detrimental to national security and the sovereignty of India and is involved in terrorism. It has committed and participated in various acts of terrorism in the country, the ministry said.

In a separate notification, a resident of Punjab, Harwinder Singh Sandhu alias Rinda, was declared a terrorist by the Ministry of Home Affairs, they said. Sandhu alias Rinda, who hails from Punjab but is currently based in Lahore and associated with the banned group Babbar Khalsa International (BKI), has been declared a terrorist.

Sandhu is alleged to be one of the masterminds behind an attack on the intelligence headquarters of the Punjab Police in 2021. A Red Corner Notice was also issued against him by the Interpol.

The home ministry further said Harwinder Singh Sandhu has direct links with Pakistan-based terrorist groups and is also involved in cross-border smuggling of arms, ammunition and militant hardware, besides drugs on a large scale.

He was involved in various criminal offences like murder, attempt to murder, contract killing, robbery and extortion in Punjab, Maharashtra, Haryana, West Bengal, Himachal Pradesh and Madhya Pradesh, the ministry said.

Singh is now the 54th individual to be designated as a terrorist by the government. Last month, the central government had banned two proxy organisations of the Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad and declared four individuals as terrorists. (PTI)