NEW DELHI: India has notified the self-styled Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) as a banned terrorist organisation, it was announced on Thursday.

As such the group attracts the clauses of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act, 1967, for its involvement “in radicalisation and recruitment of vulnerable youth from various countries including India”.

The move comes after at least four Muslim youth from Mumbai reportedly joined the IS and moved to Iraq/Syria last year to fight its “global war”.

While one of the alleged IS recruits from Kalyan, Mumbai, has returned and is currently in custody in a case registered by the NIA, intelligence agencies have been quoted as claiming that another youth has been killed in Iraq. The two remaining persons are still in the IS territory.

Though IS, for all practical reasons, was banned even earlier under the UAPA (Unlawful Activities Prevention Act) by virtue of Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, featuring in the list of terror outfits proscribed by the United Nation (covered under Entry no 33 in the UAPA list), the government felt that there was need to specifically ban the IS and all its manifestations.

Published in Dawn, February 27th, 2015

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