File image of Shahzad Bhatti. Photo: Special Arrangement
The Union government on Wednesday (September 16, 2026) designated the Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN) a terrorist group under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA).
The Union Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) said in a notification that through its terrorist activities, the outfit led by Pakistani gangster Shahzad Bhatti poses a “serious threat to the democratic system, communal harmony, and internal security of the country”.
On Independence Day, over 200 people were arrested in a country-wide anti-terror operation that was linked to the SBN.
Bhatti, who speaks Punjabi and has a significant social media presence with regular posts on Instagram and Facebook, has been operating out of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), according to officials. Over the last one and a half years, he is said to have “graduated” from organised crime to “terror-related activities”.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah said in a post on X, “Pursuing PM Shri @narendramodi [Narendra Modi] Ji’s vision of zero tolerance against terror, the MHA declares the Shahzad Bhatti Network as a terrorist organisation under the UAPA.” The SBN is the 46th group to be designated a “terrorist organisation” under the UAPA.
From smuggling to radicalisation
Without mentioning the specific cases against the network, the MHA notification listed nine categories of crimes registered against the group under the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita (BNS), the Information Technology Act, the Explosives Substances Act, the UAPA, the Official Secrets Act, the Immigration and Foreigners Act, and the Delhi Prevention of Defacement of Property Act.
The MHA described the SBN as an organisation that aimed to involve gullible youth and local criminals in the smuggling of arms, explosives, and narcotics from across the border. Through terrorist activities, the group also poses a serious threat to the democratic system, communal harmony, and internal security of the country, the Ministry said. It added that “several criminal cases” have been duly registered against those linked to the SBN, across multiple jurisdictions, for their involvement in unlawful and terrorist activities.
It further said that SBN is involved in radicalising vulnerable youth by offering various allurements, motivating them towards anti-national activities, and mobilising resources for anti-national acts in collusion with other banned organisations and designated entities.
“SBN is promoting terrorism through violent activities that disrupt public order, and by using various digital communication platforms to disseminate provocative messages, posing a serious challenge to the integrity of the nation… The Central Government believes that ‘Shahzad Bhatti Network (SBN)’ is involved in terrorism and has participated in various acts of terrorism in India,” the notification said.
Published – September 16, 2026 04:33 pm IST
