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Defence expert and retired Captain Anil Gaur on Thursday said the United Nations Security Council's report attributing the November 2025 Red Fort blast to Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) validated India's longstanding position that terrorism in the country was being "exported" from outside rather than being homegrown.
Speaking to ANI, Gaur alleged that the blast near Delhi's iconic Red Fort in November 2025, which killed 11 people, was orchestrated by Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, which he described as an Al-Qaeda-linked organisation formed to mobilise people in India for terrorist activities. "What India has been saying all through - that the terrorism in India is not homegrown but it is exported from countries outside - is validated now. This blast that took place was being orchestrated by Ansar Ghazwat-ul-Hind, one of the organisations under Al-Qaeda. And they are the ones who formed this organisation in India to ensure that people get together and they do all these nefarious activities," Gaur said. Reacting to the UNSC report, Gaur said the assessment also raised questions over the earlier criticism of action taken against individuals who were doctors by profession, allegedly linked to the terror network. He noted that some politicians in the Kashmir Valley had earlier opposed the action, claiming that the authorities targeted Kashmiri Muslims. He further questioned whether those politicians still stood by their earlier position. "Now that UN report validates all this, when action was being taken against these doctors and other people who are involved in this, then the politicians in Kashmir Valley started crying hoarse that such action should not be taken against them, that this was against the Kashmiri Muslims. Now I want to ask them, 'Do they still stand by that?'" the retired Captain said. Gaur said the report established, in his view, the involvement of Al-Qaeda and its offshoots and alleged that the people linked to the case were members of the organisation. "The report validates that this was done by Al-Qaeda and its offshoots, and these people who were involved- all those 10 who were involved in it, including that Doctor Nabi who died in the car blast--were all members of this organisation," he said. He also urged political leaders not to defend individuals accused of involvement in terrorism and instead condemn such activities. "So therefore it shows that politicians should not start running around and trying to defend these terrorists, but they should condemn them. And it is because of not condemning them that these people are still carrying on these nefarious activities," Gaur added. The retired Captain further said the UNSC assessment supported India's position and called on those who had previously opposed government action against individuals and institutions linked to the case to reconsider their stance. "The report validates what India has been saying and all people in India who were against the government's actions against all these people, including the Al-Fatah University and its chairman, have nothing to say now," he said. "I think now all these politicians, rather than trying to defend terrorists, should come up and stand against them. They may be of any religion; they may be of any caste or creed," Gaur added. His remarks came after the UNSC Analytical Support and Sanctions Monitoring Team's 38th report "officially attributed" AQIS to the November 2025 attack on the Red Fort in Delhi. The report, published on Monday, stated that the AQIS had continued to evolve from a fragmented organisation into a regional terrorist entity, developing logistics and financial networks while operating through decentralised, small and scattered cells. "Al-Qaeda in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS, not listed) continued to evolve from a fragmented group into a regional terrorist entity; it established logistics and financial networks, working in decentralised, small, scattered cells instead of large units. The attack in November 2025 on the Red Fort in Delhi was officially attributed to AQIS," the report read. It also expressed concern over attempts by the group to exploit Bangladesh to establish cells there. The assessment marks a significant development in the attribution of the Red Fort attack, which had earlier been linked by a UN Member State to Jaish-i-Mohammed (JiM). According to the UNSC Monitoring Team's 37th report, one Member State had said JiM claimed responsibility for a series of attacks and was also reported to be linked to the November 2025 Red Fort attack in New Delhi, which it said killed 11 people and injured several others. The November 2025 blast occurred in Delhi at around 7 pm when an explosion ripped through a moving Hyundai i20 near the iconic Red Fort. The vehicle was allegedly being driven by Umar Un Nabi, who is suspected of having carried out the attack as a suicide bomber and was killed in the blast. (ANI)
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