Centre declares Pathankot attack handler terrorist

According to the notification, Ali Kashif Jan, a resident of Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is an operational commander in JeM and part of the terror outfit’s core planning committee

An operational commander of the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) who was the handler during the 2016 Pathankot Air Force base attack has been declared an ‘individual terrorist’ under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, the Union home ministry said on Tuesday.

Centre declares Pathankot attack handler terrorist

According to the notification, Ali Kashif Jan, a resident of Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is an operational commander in JeM and part of the terror outfit’s core planning committee.

He is accused in various cases registered and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency (NIA), which include Pathankot attack and had been declared proclaimed offender in these cases.

Four terrorists — Nasir Hussain, Abu Bakar, Umar Farooq and Abdul Qayum, all residents of Pakistan’s Punjab and Sindh — had barged inside the Air Force base on January 1, 2016 night and killed seven personnel. The National Security Guard (NSG) and army commandoes had launched ‘Operation Dhangu’ and eliminated the terrorists in an 80-hour long operation.

The NIA charge sheet in the case says that Jan was in continuous touch with the terrorists who infiltrated into the base over the phone.

People familiar with the case say the US had handed over crucial evidence, comprising over 1,000 pages of chats and conversations between Jan and the four terrorists, as well as with his bosses in Pakistan.

Jan, when the attack was underway, had even posted details on his Facebook account, which were also retrieved by the NIA probe. These details were included in a charge sheet filed in the case later in December 2016.

After the attack, on India’s offer, Pakistan even sent a joint probe team to investigate the attack. However, Pakistan never shared any evidence with Indian agencies on the role of perpetrators. It also didn’t take any action against JeM chief Maulana Masood Azhar or Jan on the basis of evidence shared by India.

As a result of the 2016 terror attack, India vehemently pursued the designation of Azhar as a global terrorist under United Nation Security Council’s 1267 Al Qaeda Sanctions Committee. Despite several objections from China, India scored the diplomatic win in May 2019. Meanwhile, the JeM already carried another deadly attack at Pulwama on February 14, 2019 in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed.

According to the ministry notification, Jan continues to operate from the JeM launching detachments located in Pakistan and is involved in recruitment of cadres and co-ordination of attack plans in India.

An Interpol red notice was issued against Jan in 2016.

He is 34th person to be designated as an ‘individual terrorist’ under the fourth schedule of the UAPA. The law allows agencies to confiscate properties of such individuals and stop their funding activities.

Others on the list include JeM chief Azhar, his brothers Abdul Rauf Asghar and Ammar Alvi, Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed, and gangster Dawood Ibrahim.