The National Investigation Agency (NIA) has filed charges against two persons, including a close associate of Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) Chief Masood Azhar, for their alleged involvement in plans to disrupt peace and communal harmony in Jammu and Kashmir by targeting security forces, officials revealed on Wednesday.

The charged individual, Muhammad Dilawar Iqbal, hailing from Abbaspur in Pakistan-administered Kashmir, goes by various aliases, including Maaz Khan Kashmiri and Azad Kashmiri. Described as a right-hand man of Masood Azhar, Iqbal is accused of delivering inflammatory speeches to incite youth in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir to engage in terrorist activities, according to a statement from the National Investigation Agency.