Pakistan‑Backed Shahzad Bhatti Network Declared Terrorist Outfit Under UAPA

The Union Home Ministry on Wednesday issued a gazette notification that officially places the Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) on the First Schedule of the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). By invoking Section 35(1)(a) of the Act, the government has marked SBN as the 46th outfit to be labelled a terrorist organization in India.

According to the ministry’s statement, the group’s core objective is disturbingly simple – lure gullible youth and petty criminals into a cross‑border smuggling racket, moving arms, explosives and narcotics from Pakistan into Indian territory. In the process, it allegedly fuels communal disharmony by flooding the internet with hateful, incendiary content.

Intelligence agencies say the mastermind behind the network, Shahzad Bhatti, is a 45‑year‑old gangster‑turned‑terrorist who lives in Lahore and is currently believed to be hiding out in Dubai. Sources add that he operates with the backing of Pakistan’s Inter‑Services Intelligence (ISI) and runs a loosely knit web of operatives across several Indian states.

Bhatti’s criminal résumé is already sizeable. He has been linked to the 2022 murder of popular Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala – investigators allege he supplied the weapon used in that killing. More recently, he is suspected of facilitating the 2024 assassination of NCP leader Baba Siddique, helping the prime accused Zeeshan Akhtar escape to Azerbaijan. He even claimed responsibility for a grenade attack on YouTuber Rozer Sandhu’s residence in Jalandhar in March 2024, and his name surfaced in a blast investigation at Baldev Nagar.

The notification also points to a slew of criminal cases filed against alleged SBN members under a mix of statutes – the UAPA, the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita, the Arms Act, the Explosives Act and the Information Technology Act. These cases span several jurisdictions, underscoring the network’s wide‑reaching influence.

While the Ministry’s move is largely procedural, it carries serious implications. Designation under the UAPA empowers law‑enforcement agencies to freeze assets, curb financial flows and arrest individuals linked to the organization with a lower evidentiary threshold. In other words, the government now has a legal hammer to smash the network’s operations, both inside and outside India.

For ordinary citizens, the announcement serves as a reminder that the threat isn’t just a distant geopolitical issue; it’s a domestic menace that preys on disillusioned youth and feeds on the country’s fragile communal fabric. The ministry’s language makes it clear: “SBN poses a serious threat to the democratic system, communal harmony and internal security of the country.”

As the crackdown intensifies, eyes will be on the police forces in Uttar Pradesh, Delhi and other states that have already lodged FIRs against SBN operatives. Whether this designation translates into a tangible dent in the network’s activities remains to be seen, but the official label certainly raises the stakes for Shahzad Bhatti and his alleged Pakistani patrons.