Jammu region LeT head al-Dakhil gets terror tag from US

SANCTIONS TWO PAKISTANBASED FINANCIAL FACILITATORS OF THE BANNED MILITANT GROUP

WASHINGTON: The US on Tuesday named Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil, a senior commander of Lashkare-Taiba who carried out attacks in India, a specially designated global terrorist and sanctioned two other Pakistanis who work as financial facilitators for the banned Pakistanbased group.

The fund raisers are Hameedul-Hassan and Abdul Jabbar, who work with Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF), a front for the LeT. All three are Pakistani nationals, according to separate announcements by the US state and treasury departments.

“Today’s designations seek to deny Dakhil the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks,” the state department said. “These LeT (sic) financial facilitators are responsible for collecting, transporting and distributing funds to support this terrorist group and provide salaries to extremists,” said Sigal Mandelker, treasury undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence.

“Treasury’s designations not only aim to expose and shut down LeT’s financial network, but also to curtail its ability to raise funds to carry out violent terrorist attacks.” As a consequence of the designations, all properties and interests owned by the men and subject to US jurisdiction will be blocked and Americans will be prohibited from any transactions with them, or sending them funds.

The latest designations came days after the US expressed “deep reservations” over the participation of terrorist-affiliated individuals in Pakistan’s general elections on July 25. Candidates backed by the Jamaat-ud Dawah (JuD) contested the polls through the Allahu Akbar Tehreek, while the Sunni extremist group Ahl-eSunnat Wal Jamaat also fielded candidates but neither party won a single seat.