"Listing of several Pakistan-based individuals including Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi, and entities including Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamaat-ud-Dawaa under the relevant provisions of the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution No. 1267 has been successfully pursued by India," says foreign secretary Vikram Misri.
"The Government continues to pursue imposition and strict monitoring of 1267 regime on various Pakistan based individuals and terrorist organizations," he writes in an opinion piece.
Pakistan-Sponsored Terrorism
May 16, 2025
“While giving terrorists state funerals may be a practice in Pakistan, it makes no sense to India.” - Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri
Introduction
Pakistan’s Defence Minister, Khawaja Muhammad Asif, has admitted that the country supported terrorist groups for three decades, in an interview with a British news channel. Asif further described it as a “mistake” and said that Pakistan has paid a heavy price for its actions. This admission comes in the wake of the recent terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, raising fresh concerns about Pakistan’s past involvement in regional instability.
Pakistan stands on the brink of collapse as it faces growing diplomatic isolation and increasing pressure on its international relations. Following the Pahalgam terror attack on April 22, 2025, and India's retaliatory Operation Sindoor (where on May 7, 2025, India launched precision missile strikes on nine terrorist camps in Pakistan and Pakistan-occupied Kashmir, including key hubs in Bahawalpur and Muridke, long known for harbouring groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed), Pakistan’s traditional allies, including Saudi Arabia, the UAE, and even China, have distanced themselves.
The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) has scrutinized Pakistan’s involvement with terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Pakistan is struggling to maintain its strategic balance in South Asia.
Pakistan has been repeatedly implicated in supporting terrorism, both directly and indirectly. Several terrorist attacks in India, including in Jammu and Kashmir are perpetrated by infiltrators from Pakistan or Pakistan Occupied Kashmir, benefitting from the terrorist infrastructure existing there.
In addition to these safe havens, this support is also manifested through the provision of financial assistance to various terrorist organizations operating in the region.
The government’s concerns regarding anti-India terrorism emanating from Pakistan have been taken up with international community and also bilaterally with Pakistan on a number of occasions.
Terrorism in Pakistan is not just the result of extremist groups acting on their own. It is often supported, directly or indirectly, by parts of the state.
Groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba have received funding, training, and protection from Pakistan’s intelligence agency, the ISI, as seen in the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
While the government sometimes acts against these groups, other parts of the state continue to back them for strategic reasons. These groups also survive through illegal funding networks, including fake charities, drug trade, and counterfeit money. This shows that terrorism in Pakistan is part of a larger system, not just a problem of extremism.
Recent Incidents of Terror Attacks on India :
Over the past two decades (2005–2025), India has witnessed numerous terror attacks, predominantly concentrated in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir. These incidents range from fidayeen assaults on military and police establishments to mass-casualty attacks targeting civilians, including pilgrims and tourists.
Between 2005 and 2010, terrorists frequently targeted political leaders, security forces, and civilians in remote areas. The most notable attack includes the 2008 Mumbai attack. 10 Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorists supported and launched by Pakistan, perpetrated dastardly attacks on Mumbai. 166 persons including 18 police and security force personnel and 26 foreign nationals were killed and 308 persons were injured in the mayhem that lasted for four days.
A series of terrorist attacks involving indiscriminate firing, throwing of grenades and bomb blasts at 13 locations, including Chatrapati Shivaji Terminus, Leopold Café, Taj Hotel, Oberoi-Trident Hotel and Nariman House took place in Mumbai between 26 and 29 November 2008.
Other notable attacks include the 2006 Kulhad Doda massacre (19 civilians killed), and multiple IED attacks in Srinagar and Baramulla, causing high civilian and SF casualties. Groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Hizbul Mujahideen (HM), having their hideouts and training camps in Pakistan, were consistently linked to these incidents.
From 2013 to 2019, the intensity and sophistication of attacks increased. The 2014 Arnia and Uri attacks and 2015 Rajbagh police station attack involved heavily armed infiltrators.
The most devastating among them was the Pulwama attack (14 February 2019), in which 40 CRPF personnel were killed in an IED suicide bombing by Jaish-e-Mohammed, which is based in Pakistan. Multiple attacks during this period also involved hostage situations, fidayeen raids, and the use of high grade explosives.
Between 2020 and 2025, a new pattern emerged — targeting pilgrims, civilians, and army convoys in Rajouri–Poonch, Reasi, Pulwama, and Baramulla.
The shift included ambush-style attacks in hilly/forested terrain, high-impact attacks on tourist locations, and a worrying rise in civilian deaths, notably in Dangri (2023), Reasi (2024), and Pahalgam (2025).
UNSC 1267 Sanctions List: Pakistan-Based Individuals and Groups
The UNSC 1267 Sanctions List targets individuals and entities associated with Al-Qaida, ISIL (Da'esh), and related groups. The sanctions include asset freezes, travel bans, and arms embargoes. The Sanctions List currently contains the names of 254 individuals and 89 entities, was last updated on 11 March 2025, and supersedes all previous versions.
Listing of several Pakistan-based individuals including Hafiz Saeed and Zaki-ur Rahman Lakhvi, and entities including Lashkar-e-Taiba/Jamaat-ud-Dawaa under the relevant provisions of the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution No. 1267 has been successfully pursued by India.
The Government continues to pursue imposition and strict monitoring of 1267 regime on various Pakistan based individuals and terrorist organizations directing their activities against India.
Below are some notable individuals and entities/groups based in Pakistan or with confirmed presence in Pakistan that appear in the UNSC 1267 Sanctions List:
Name
Affiliation
Role/Designation
Location in Pakistan
Hafiz Muhammad Saeed
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)
Leader
Lahore
Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)
Chief of Operations
Islamabad
Haji Muhammad Ashraf
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)
Finance Chief
Specific Location
unavailable, but present in Pakistan
Masood Azhar
Jaish-I-Mohammed (JeM)
Founder
Specific Location
unavailable, but present in Pakistan
Jaish-I-Mohammed (JeM)
Terrorist Group
Militant Organization
Peshawar and
Muzaffarabad
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)
Terrorist Group
Militant Organization
Lahore
Al Rashid Trust
Financial Entity
Funded terrorist groups
Multiple cities in
Pakistan including
Karachi, Peshawar, Rawalpindi, etc.
Al Akhtar Trust
Financial Entity
Supported organisations like Jaish-I-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Tayyiba
Karachi
Abdur Rehman
Organisations like Jaish-I-Mohammed and Al-Qaida
Logistical and Financial Support to Terror
Organisations
Karachi
Abdur Rehman Makki
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT)
Deputy Chief of Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT)
Punjab
Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP)
Terrorist Group
Militant Organization
Federally Admin. Tribal Areas
Pakistan's Parallel Terror Economy
According to the South Asia Terrorism Portal (SATP), Pakistan is home to 83 proscribed terrorist organisations. Of these, 45 remain active, spreading violence not only in India but across Asia and far beyond. Many are indigenous creations; others are trans-national networks that Islamabad’s ruling establishment, and its all-powerful army, openly courts or covertly protects, whether governing the country directly or de facto.
Islamabad’s own finances feed these non-state actors. Although precise accounting is elusive, a landmark 2002 study published in Columbia University Affairs Online mapped the funding of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir: 25% came directly from Pakistan, 20% from overseas Islamic bodies and countries, 15% from narcotics, and three further streams—illicit arms sales, counterfeit currency and a blend of extortion and bank robberies—each contributed 10%. The numbers may have shifted but the structure endures.
Pakistan's support for terrorism is not limited to providing safe havens; it extends to a parallel economy that finances terrorist activities through various means:
Narcotics Trade: Terrorist organizations in Pakistan have been involved in the narcotics trade, using the proceeds to fund their operations. Pakistan’s embrace of narco-terrorism began under General Zia ul-Haq (1978-88). The Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan’s intelligence agency, soon welded drug trafficking to militant finance, siphoning profits into covert operations.
That pipeline remains intact: the ISI continues to choreograph smuggling rings, ensuring a steady stream of hard currency for favoured proxies.
Charitable Organizations:
Certain charities in Pakistan have been accused of diverting funds to support terrorist activities under the guise of humanitarian work. Pakistani organisations lie at the heart of this scheme: Lashkar-e-Tayyiba’s headquarters in Muridke and Jaish-I-Mohammed’s Islamic seminary in Bahawalpur stand out as infamous collection hubs, funneling illicit money into what is, in effect, a state-sanctioned war chest.
Masood Azhar’s Karachi-based Al-Rasheed Trust, and Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa, widely regarded as a Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LeT) front, were among several Islamic charities that double as radical organisations. Operations of the Al-Rasheed Trust was frozen post 9/11 for terror funding; Jamaat-ud-Dawa still operates, like JeM’s other related charity entities.
Such charities place advertisements soliciting “donations for jihad” not only in India but across the world. Their efforts are reinforced by religious seminaries, or madrassas, which assist with recruitment and amplify their messaging.
Counterfeit Currency:
The circulation of counterfeit Indian currency has been linked to Pakistan based networks aiming to destabilize the Indian economy and fund terrorism.
In the past sixteen years Islamabad has languished on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) Grey List no fewer than three times for money-laundering and terror-financing failures. It severely curtailed external capital inflows into Pakistan, discouraged potential investment, and put the brakes on loans and other assistance from foreign sources and multilateral agencies. Pakistan was even warned that it could be placed on the FATF blacklist if it failed to implement corrective measures.
Several bailout loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) were suspended because of weak governance and the widespread corruption now endemic to the country—conditions that have allowed illicit practices, such as terror financing, to flourish under misguided economic policies.
In the wake of the Pahalgam terror attack, carried out by Pakistan-based militants and masterminded in Pakistan, the prospect of returning to the FATF grey list, and the resulting denial or delay of the next IMF bailout loan, has become a real risk for Islamabad.
Conclusion
The evidence of Pakistan's involvement in sponsoring terrorism is substantial and multifaceted, encompassing direct support to terrorist organizations, financial facilitation, and the provision of safe havens. The inclusion of Pakistan-based individuals and groups in the UNSC 1267 Sanctions List underscores the international community's recognition of this issue.
Continued vigilance and coordinated international efforts are essential to counter and dismantle the infrastructure supporting terrorism emanating from Pakistan.
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