Ali Kashif Jan, the Pakistani handler of the 2016 terror attack on Pathankot air base, has been designated as a terrorist by the government.

Jan alias Jan Ali Kashif is the third terrorist to have been designated as a terrorist by the central government in the last five days.

The Union home ministry said in a notification than Jan was the handler of Punjab's Pathankot air force station terror attack in January 2016 in which seven security personnel and one civilian were killed.

Jan, 42, is the operational commander and part of the core planning committee of the dreaded terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He continues to operate from the launching pads located in Pakistan and is involved in recruitment of cadres for their training and coordinate attack plans at targets in India, the home ministry said.

Jan is also accused in various cases registered and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency. He had been declared proclaimed offender in these cases.

After the terror attack at the Pathankot air base, a five-member team of Pakistani investigators had visited the air base and collected evidence for three days and met witnesses and survivors.

However, after the Pakistani team returned home, it put the blame on India for the attack.

Jan was born on January 30, 1982 and a resident of Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.

A Red Corner Notice was also issued against him. Jan is now 34th individual who has been designated as terrorist by the government.

On April 8, the government had designated Hafiz Talha Saeed, a key leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the son of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, a terrorist.

On Monday, Pakistani national Mohiuddin Aurangzeb Alamgir, who was involved in the terror attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, was designated as a terrorist.

The JeM has been responsible for a series of deadly attacks in India, mostly in Jammu and Kashmir, in which scores of civilians and security personnel have been killed over the years.

JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released by India in exchange for the release of a hijacked Indian Airlines flight from Kandahar in 1999, is one of the most wanted terrorists in India, along with LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and the LeT 'operational commander' Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.

India has been consistently seeking Azhar's custody but Pakistan has refused to comply.

The JeM is listed as a terrorist organisation under the First Schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA.

The UAPA has been enacted to provide for more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of associations and individuals and for dealing with terrorist activities and for matters connected therewith.

The act empowers the central government to notify the name of an individual in its Fourth Schedule if it believes that he is involved in terrorism.&nbsp;

Ali Kashif Jan, the Pakistani handler of the 2016 terror attack on Pathankot air base, has been designated as a terrorist by the government. Jan alias Jan Ali Kashif is the third terrorist to have been designated as a terrorist by the central government in the last five days.

Ali Kashif Jan, the Pakistani handler of the 2016 terror attack on Pathankot air base, has been designated as a terrorist by the government. Jan alias Jan Ali Kashif is the third terrorist to have been designated as a terrorist by the central government in the last five days. The Union home ministry said in a notification than Jan was the handler of Punjab's Pathankot air force station terror attack in January 2016 in which seven security personnel and one civilian were killed. Jan, 42, is the operational commander and part of the core planning committee of the dreaded terror group Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM). He continues to operate from the launching pads located in Pakistan and is involved in recruitment of cadres for their training and coordinate attack plans at targets in India, the home ministry said. Jan is also accused in various cases registered and being investigated by the National Investigation Agency. He had been declared proclaimed offender in these cases. After the terror attack at the Pathankot air base, a five-member team of Pakistani investigators had visited the air base and collected evidence for three days and met witnesses and survivors. However, after the Pakistani team returned home, it put the blame on India for the attack. Jan was born on January 30, 1982 and a resident of Charsadda, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan. A Red Corner Notice was also issued against him. Jan is now 34th individual who has been designated as terrorist by the government. On April 8, the government had designated Hafiz Talha Saeed, a key leader of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the son of 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed, a terrorist. On Monday, Pakistani national Mohiuddin Aurangzeb Alamgir, who was involved in the terror attack on a CRPF bus in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, was designated as a terrorist. The JeM has been responsible for a series of deadly attacks in India, mostly in Jammu and Kashmir, in which scores of civilians and security personnel have been killed over the years. JeM founder Maulana Masood Azhar, who was released by India in exchange for the release of a hijacked Indian Airlines flight from Kandahar in 1999, is one of the most wanted terrorists in India, along with LeT founder Hafiz Saeed and the LeT 'operational commander' Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi. India has been consistently seeking Azhar's custody but Pakistan has refused to comply. The JeM is listed as a terrorist organisation under the First Schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, or the UAPA. The UAPA has been enacted to provide for more effective prevention of certain unlawful activities of associations and individuals and for dealing with terrorist activities and for matters connected therewith. The act empowers the central government to notify the name of an individual in its Fourth Schedule if it believes that he is involved in terrorism.

India designates Pak handler of 2016 Pathankot air base attack as terrorist

Terrorism remains publicly acknowledged by the Pakistan government as a policy that they justify, making it very hard to conduct normal relations with it, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

Speaking during an online event hosted by the Asia Society, Jaishankar said, 'In terms of your'&nbsp;question, how are we with Pakistan. Well, I am afraid we're still at the, if not the perennial issues, at least the long-lasting ones, which is terrorism from Pakistan continues."

"Terrorism from Pakistan remains publicly acknowledged by their government as a policy that they are justifying. So it makes it very hard to conduct normal relations with them,''&nbsp;Jaishankar said.

He added that it is not only terrorism, but Pakistan doesn't do normal trade with India and has not given New Delhi MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status.

''We don't have a normal visa relationship, they are very restrictive on that score. They have blocked connectivity between India and Afghanistan and from Afghanistan to India,''&nbsp;he said.

Jaishankar said that normal neighbours do visas and trade, ''they give you connectivity and most important they don't practice terrorism. And I think until we address that problem, this challenge of how do you have a normal relationship with this very unique neighbour is a very troubling issue for our foreign policy.''

Responding to a question on the developments in Kashmir since the bifurcation last year, Jaishankar said the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has now become two union territories.

''The external boundaries of India have not changed. The external boundaries of India remain what they are today as opposed to what they were five years ago or 20 years ago, 40 years ago,''&nbsp;he said.

''So as far as our neighbours are concerned, our point to them is that this is something which is internal to us. Every country after all reserves the right to change its administrative jurisdictions. A country like China has also changed the borders of its provinces and I'm sure a lot of other countries do that.

''Neighbours get impacted only if your external boundaries change. That has not happened in this case,''&nbsp;he said.

Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks, including one on Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship.

The relationship further dipped after India's war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26 last year in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed.

Withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir's special powers and bifurcating the state into two union territories in August last year also evoked a strong reaction from Pakistan, which has been unsuccessfully trying to rally international support against India on the Kashmir issue.&nbsp;

Terrorism remains publicly acknowledged by the Pakistan government as a policy that they justify, making it very hard to conduct normal relations with it, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday.

Terrorism remains publicly acknowledged by the Pakistan government as a policy that they justify, making it very hard to conduct normal relations with it, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar said on Friday. Speaking during an online event hosted by the Asia Society, Jaishankar said, 'In terms of your' question, how are we with Pakistan. Well, I am afraid we're still at the, if not the perennial issues, at least the long-lasting ones, which is terrorism from Pakistan continues." "Terrorism from Pakistan remains publicly acknowledged by their government as a policy that they are justifying. So it makes it very hard to conduct normal relations with them,'' Jaishankar said. He added that it is not only terrorism, but Pakistan doesn't do normal trade with India and has not given New Delhi MFN (Most Favoured Nation) status. ''We don't have a normal visa relationship, they are very restrictive on that score. They have blocked connectivity between India and Afghanistan and from Afghanistan to India,'' he said. Jaishankar said that normal neighbours do visas and trade, ''they give you connectivity and most important they don't practice terrorism. And I think until we address that problem, this challenge of how do you have a normal relationship with this very unique neighbour is a very troubling issue for our foreign policy.'' Responding to a question on the developments in Kashmir since the bifurcation last year, Jaishankar said the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir has now become two union territories. ''The external boundaries of India have not changed. The external boundaries of India remain what they are today as opposed to what they were five years ago or 20 years ago, 40 years ago,'' he said. ''So as far as our neighbours are concerned, our point to them is that this is something which is internal to us. Every country after all reserves the right to change its administrative jurisdictions. A country like China has also changed the borders of its provinces and I'm sure a lot of other countries do that. ''Neighbours get impacted only if your external boundaries change. That has not happened in this case,'' he said. Ties between India and Pakistan nosedived after a terror attack on the Pathankot Air Force base in 2016 by terror groups based in the neighbouring country. Subsequent attacks, including one on Indian Army camp in Uri, further deteriorated the relationship. The relationship further dipped after India's war planes pounded a Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorist training camp deep inside Pakistan on February 26 last year in response to the Pulwama terror attack in which 40 CRPF jawans were killed. Withdrawal of Jammu and Kashmir's special powers and bifurcating the state into two union territories in August last year also evoked a strong reaction from Pakistan, which has been unsuccessfully trying to rally international support against India on the Kashmir issue.

Terrorism from Pak continues, making it very hard to conduct normal relations with them: Jaishankar

Boosting the firepower of India`s defence forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will officially induct the first batch of Apache attack helicopters into the Indian Air Force on September 3 in Pathankot.

"The Defence Minister is scheduled to induct the Apache attack choppers into the Air Force officially in Pathankot on September 3. The first batch of choppers had arrived at the Hindan airbase about three weeks ago at the Hindan airbase in an Antonov cargo plane," defence officials told ANI here.

The AH-64E helicopters, the latest variants of the Apache, were delivered from the US.

After the first four choppers, another batch had come to the airbase and the eight Apaches are likely to be inducted in the first go.

The Defence Ministry had finalised the order for production, training and support of 22 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters in 2015.

Two years later, the Central government cleared the acquisition of an additional six Apaches for the Indian Army.

By 2020, Boeing would hand over the entire fleet of 22 Apaches to the Indian Air Force for operations.

India had signed a deal worth USD 3 billion in 2018 for the supply of 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers and 22 attack helicopters from American firms.

Both the deals were initiated during the UPA era around 2008-09 but could not be signed due to procedural and other issues in the contract.

On March 25, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had presided over a ceremony in Chandigarh for the official induction of the Chinook heavy-lift choppers.

The choppers will be used for ferrying heavy loads in the mountainous region of Ladakh and other areas for the Army and Air Force requirements.&nbsp;

Boosting the firepower of India`s defence forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will officially induct the first batch of Apache attack helicopters into the Indian Air Force on September 3 in Pathankot.

Boosting the firepower of India`s defence forces, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh will officially induct the first batch of Apache attack helicopters into the Indian Air Force on September 3 in Pathankot. "The Defence Minister is scheduled to induct the Apache attack choppers into the Air Force officially in Pathankot on September 3. The first batch of choppers had arrived at the Hindan airbase about three weeks ago at the Hindan airbase in an Antonov cargo plane," defence officials told ANI here. The AH-64E helicopters, the latest variants of the Apache, were delivered from the US. After the first four choppers, another batch had come to the airbase and the eight Apaches are likely to be inducted in the first go. The Defence Ministry had finalised the order for production, training and support of 22 AH-64 Apache attack helicopters in 2015. Two years later, the Central government cleared the acquisition of an additional six Apaches for the Indian Army. By 2020, Boeing would hand over the entire fleet of 22 Apaches to the Indian Air Force for operations. India had signed a deal worth USD 3 billion in 2018 for the supply of 15 Chinook heavy-lift choppers and 22 attack helicopters from American firms. Both the deals were initiated during the UPA era around 2008-09 but could not be signed due to procedural and other issues in the contract. On March 25, IAF Chief Air Chief Marshal BS Dhanoa had presided over a ceremony in Chandigarh for the official induction of the Chinook heavy-lift choppers. The choppers will be used for ferrying heavy loads in the mountainous region of Ladakh and other areas for the Army and Air Force requirements.

Defence Minister to induct Apache attack choppers at Pathankot Air Base

In a crack down on terror financing, Pakistan&#39;s central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday froze bank accounts of over 5,100 terror suspects in the country, including that of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, The News reported.

The Pakistan interior ministry provided three different lists naming thousands of suspects, including kingpins of some outlawed organisations to the central bank.&nbsp;

The blockade by the Pakistani authorities will off cut major funding for the terror organisations as the bank accounts held net amount worth Rs 400 million.

Masood Azhar, currently under &quot;protective custody&quot;, was included in the category &#39;A&#39; list of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which enlists high risk terrorists, said a senior official of the bank, who is also part of the team monitoring the progress on the decision.&nbsp;

&quot;It happened since the government put the JeM chief under &#39;protective custody&#39; of security agencies after terrorists attacked the Pathankot air base,&quot; the officials said.

Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were suspected of carrying out the attack on the Pathankot air base in India in January, following which new Delhi had written to the United Nations calling for immediate action to list the group&#39;s chief, Azhar under the UN Sanctions Committee.&nbsp;

The country&#39;s National Counter-terrorism Authority (Nacta) had sent around 5,500 names to the SBP earlier this month, they said. The national coordinator of the agency, Ihsan Ghani confirmed that over 5,000 accounts had been frozen and said he would release details of Azhar&#39;s accounts later this week.&nbsp;

(WION with inputs from PTI) 
&nbsp;

The central bank, on request from Pakistan's interior ministry, froze bank accounts worth Rs 400 million, including those of terror kingpins

In a crack down on terror financing, Pakistan's central bank, the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) on Monday froze bank accounts of over 5,100 terror suspects in the country, including that of Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar, The News reported. The Pakistan interior ministry provided three different lists naming thousands of suspects, including kingpins of some outlawed organisations to the central bank. The blockade by the Pakistani authorities will off cut major funding for the terror organisations as the bank accounts held net amount worth Rs 400 million. Masood Azhar, currently under "protective custody", was included in the category 'A' list of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which enlists high risk terrorists, said a senior official of the bank, who is also part of the team monitoring the progress on the decision. "It happened since the government put the JeM chief under 'protective custody' of security agencies after terrorists attacked the Pathankot air base," the officials said. Jaish-e-Mohammed terrorists were suspected of carrying out the attack on the Pathankot air base in India in January, following which new Delhi had written to the United Nations calling for immediate action to list the group's chief, Azhar under the UN Sanctions Committee. The country's National Counter-terrorism Authority (Nacta) had sent around 5,500 names to the SBP earlier this month, they said. The national coordinator of the agency, Ihsan Ghani confirmed that over 5,000 accounts had been frozen and said he would release details of Azhar's accounts later this week. (WION with inputs from PTI)

Pakistan freezes bank accounts of Jaish chief Masood Azhar and 5,100 other terror suspects