The Union home ministry has designated Hafiz Talha Saeed, son of Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) chief Hafiz Saeed, as a terrorist under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).

“Hafiz Talha Saeed has been actively involved in recruitment, fund collection, planning and executing attacks by LeT in India and Indian interests in Afghanistan…. The central government believes that Talha Saeed is involved in terrorism and he should be notified as a terrorist under the said Act,” the ministry said in a gazette notification.

The notification said Talha Saeed, born on October 25, 1975, and a resident of Lahore in Pakistan, was a senior leader of the LeT and the head of the cleric wing of the banned terror outfit.

The 1967 Act, amended in 2019, empowers the Centre to designate individuals as terrorists.

Earlier, the provision was applicable only to terror outfits or groups but not individuals.

In September 2019 Hafiz Saeed was designated as a terrorist for involvement in several terror cases, including the 26/11 Mumbai attacks.

Designation as terrorist helps the government freeze finances and crack down on networks created by them.