04 November 2010
Treasury Imposes Sanctions on Two Pakistan-Based Terror Groups
Washington — The U.S. Treasury Department announced actions November 4 against the financial and support networks of the Pakistan-based terrorist groups Lashkar-e Tayyiba and Jaish-e Mohammed.
Treasury has imposed sanctions to seize or freeze the assets of key leaders from the two terrorist groups who have been involved in terrorist attacks in India in recent years.
Lashkar-e Tayyiba (LET) carried out the four-day shooting and bombing attacks in Mumbai in November 2008 that killed more than 165 people. The group also carried out a deadly train bombing in Mumbai in 2006. Jaish-e Mohammed (JEM) targets Indian troops and government offices to force India out of Jammu and Kashmir state.
“LET and JEM have proven both their willingness and ability to execute attacks against innocent civilians,” said Stuart Levey, the Treasury Department’s under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence. “Today’s action — including the designation of Azam Cheema, one of LET’s leading commanders who was involved in the 2008 and 2006 Mumbai attacks — is an important step in incapacitating the operational and financial networks of these deadly organizations.”
The United States imposed sanctions against Cheema, who was instrumental in training LET operatives for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and planned the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings, the Treasury Department said in a statement. The United States also imposed sanctions on Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, head of LET’s political affairs department.
The United States designated Lashkar-e Tayyiba as a foreign terrorist organization in December 2001, and it was also designed a terrorist organization by the United Nations 1267 Committee in May 2005. The U.N. 1267 Committee was created by the Security Council in October 1999 and maintains a consolidated list of terrorist organizations worldwide.
Al Rehmat Trust, an operational front for the Jaish-e Mohammed terrorist organization, was designated for providing financial support to JEM. Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi, JEM’s founder and leader, was also targeted for sanctions by the United States, Treasury said. Jaish-e Mohammed was designated a foreign terrorist organization by the United States in October 2001 and by the U.N. 1267 Committee also in 2001.
The new sanctions prohibit Americans and American businesses from doing business with the individuals and freezes their assets under U.S. jurisdiction, Treasury said. The foreign terrorist organization designation from the State Department also carries stiff sanctions and prohibitions.
(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)
