LeT’s political party MML is a terror outfit too, says US
WASHINGTON: The United States on Monday designated Lashkar-eTaiba’s political front, the Milli Muslim League (MML), and seven of its top officials as Specially Designated Global Terrorists. India welcomed the move, saying the decision reflects rejection of Pakistan’s attempts to mainstream terrorist individuals and entities.
“It is also cognisance of the fact that terrorist individuals and entities are allowed to change names and continue to operate freely from territory under Pakistan’s control,” the foreign ministry said. The designated officials were named for acting on behalf of LeT, a Pakistan-based terrorist group that was designated in December 2001, the US said.
The MML was formed in 2017 by LeT founder Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terrorist attacks. He inaugurated the front’s first office in Lahore in December, and has said the League will contest elections in 2018. “(US) treasury is targeting the Milli Muslim League and a group of seven global terrorists who are complicit in Lashkar-e Tayyiba’s attempts to undermine Pakistan’s political process,” treasury undersecretary Sigal Mandelker said on Monday.
“The Milli Muslim League is not a recognised political party; further it relies on the leadership of LeT for guidance and direction. We will continue to target terrorist organizations like Lashkar-e Tayyiba, even when they attempt to cloak themselves as political parties or hide their extremism behind other facades,” he said.
Pakistan is already on notice from the Trump administration for continued failure to take decisive action against terrorists based on its soil such as LeT, Jaish-e-Mohammad and the Haqqani Network.
It is also slated to go on the gray-list of the Financial Action Task Force, a secretive inter-governmental body that monitors and targets money laundering and terrorist financing, in June, in a move proposed and pushed through by the US, which has been extremely annoyed by Islamabad’s handling of Saeed and the LeT.