WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday announced it was adding the student wing of the Pakistan-based militant organisation, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), to its list of “foreign terrorist organizations.”
(LeT) or army of the pure has been accused of orchestrating numerous attacks,
including a 2008 assault in Mumbai that killed 166 people, six of them Americans.
The State Dep
artment’s move against the student group, Al-Muhammadia Students, came as the Treasury Dep
artment added two Lashkar-e-Taiba leaders to the US list of “specially designated global terrorists”, subjecting them to US sanctions.
LeT was banned by the Pakistani government in 2002 but it has continued operating through front organisations, according to US officials, and their leaders conduct public rallies and interviews.
The State Dep
artment announced that it amended the designation of LeT as a “foreign terrorist organization” to
include what it called the group’s student wing.
“Since the original designation
occurred, LeT has repeatedly changed its name and created front organizations in an effort to avoid sanctions,” the State Dep
artment said, adding that the student grou
p aided senior LeT leaders in recruiting and other activities.
The State Dep
artment’s action subjected the student group to sanctions,
including a ban on Americans providing or attempting to provide it with material support.
The Treasury Dep
artment said it was adding Muhammad Sarwar and Shahid Mahmood to the US list of “specially designated global terrorists”, freezing any US property or other assets they hold and banning Americans from doing business with them. Both are involved in fund-raising activities, it said.
Sarwar, the dep
artment said, is the LeT leader in Lahore and Mahmood is a senior LeT leader in Karachi
and has routinely travelled outside Pakistan on the group’s behalf.
.jpg)
