Terrorists Evading Security Agencies by Changing Identities; 200 Aliases Listed for 57 Individuals; Home Ministry Releases List

New Delhi | Several notorious terrorists linked to Pakistan have adopted the tactic of changing their identities to mislead security and investigative agencies across the globe. These terrorists are active not merely under one or two names, but under multiple aliases, making it extremely difficult to track them. In a list released by the Union Ministry of Home Affairs under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA), approximately 200 different aliases have been recorded for 57 terrorists.

Dawood Ibrahim—an accused in the Mumbai terror attacks and one of India’s most wanted terrorists—alone has 22 aliases attributed to him. Meanwhile, Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed has 9 aliases recorded in the files of various agencies, while Mohiuddin Aurangzeb Alamgir, associated with Jaish-e-Mohammed, has 11 aliases listed.

Terror Networks Active Under Multiple Aliases
Topping the Home Ministry’s list is the name of Maulana Masood Azhar, who has remained active under various identities. He is also known by names such as Maulana Mahmood Masood Azhar Alvi and Vila Adam Issa. Riyaz Ismail Shahbandri also utilizes several aliases, including Shah Riyaz Ahmed, Riyaz Bhatkal, Mohammed Riyaz, Ahmed Bhai, Rasul Khan, Roshan Khan, and Aziz. Similarly, Ibrahim Memon has adopted names such as Tiger Memon, Mustaq, and Sikandar. Syed Mohammed Yusuf Shah is identified by names such as Syed Salahuddin, Peer Saheb, and Buzurg. Furthermore, 9 aliases have been recorded for Habibullah Malik, 6 for Ghulam Nabi Khan, and 5 for Zafar Iqbal.

The Long List of Dawood Ibrahim’s Aliases
In this global list of terrorists, Dawood Ibrahim has the highest number of recorded aliases, totaling 22. These include numerous aliases such as Dawood Ibrahim Kaskar, Dawood Hasan Sheikh Kaskar, Dawood Bhai, Iqbal Seth, Bada Patel, Sheikh Dawood Hasan, Anees Ibrahim, Aziz Dilip, and Sheikh Farooqui. The use of such a large number of names reflects a deliberate strategy to conceal his identity and evade intelligence agencies.

New Identities of Terrorists Linked to LeT and JeM
Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed has also adopted several aliases. His list of names includes titles such as Hafiz Mohammad Sahib, Hafiz Mo. Syed, and Mohammad Saeed. Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, too, has established various identities, including names like Abu Wahid, Irshad Ahmed Arshad, Kaki-ur-Rehman, and Zakir Rehman. Meanwhile, Mohiuddin Aurangzeb Alamgir—an associate of Jaish-e-Mohammed—has utilized a total of 11 aliases, including Maktab Amir, Mujahid Bhai, Aurangzeb Anjar, and Maulana Ammar.