WASHINGTON: The United States has slapped new sanctions on Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jamaatul Dawa Al Quran (JDQ) to disrupt their leadership and financial networks.

The sanctions, announced on Friday afternoon, came a day after more than a dozen US intelligence agencies reported to Congress that Pakistan-based terrorist groups are still allegedly launching attacks in India and Afghanistan and are likely to continue their activities in future too.

The latest sanctions also apply to the Taliban and Al Qaeda while some terrorist leaders mentioned in the sanctions order have links to ISIS-Khorasan or the militant Islamic State group, as well.

The action aims at “disrupting the leadership of the JDQ and financial support networks of the JDQ, the Taliban, Al Qaeda, LeT, the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), and ISIS-Khorasan by designating three individuals and one entity based in Pakistan,” the order said.

The US Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control, which issued the order, identified Hayatullah Ghulam Muhammad, Ali Muhammad Abu Turab and Inayatur Rahman as “designated terrorists” involved with these groups.

“The United States continues to aggressively target extremists in Pakistan and the surrounding region, including charities and other front groups used as vehicles to facilitate illicit terrorist activities,” said John E. Smith, director of US Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC).

He said that “the individuals are opportunistic and willing to work with extremist organisations, even those ideologically opposed to one another, to help them deepen their foothold in the region”.

Published in Dawn, May 14th, 2017