WASHINGTON: The United States on Wednesday named three Pakistanis as key “terrorist facilitators”, saying they worked closely with a well-known backer of Al Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Taliban known as Shaykh Aminullah.

The US Treasury placed Rahman Zeb Faqir Muhammad, Hizb Ullah Astam Khan and Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan on its blacklist of “Specially Designated Global Terrorists,” in an effort to disrupt the group’s ability to obtain and distribute financing.

All three were tied to Shaykh Aminullah, who has been on international terror blacklists since 2009.

US officials allege that Shaykh Aminullah turned the Ganj seminary in Peshawar into a training and recruiting base for Al Qaeda, the Taliban and LeT.

The three men were involved in providing financial and logistical support, explosives and technological aid to the three Pakistan- and Afghanistan-based extremist groups, the Treasury said.

Rahman Zeb, it said, had been in charge of raising funds and materials for LeT in the Gulf region, and helped Shaykh Aminullah travel to the Gulf in 2014.

Hizb Ullah was involved in Shaykh Aminullah’s seminary and helped him on various trips to the Gulf. Dilawar, meanwhile, was a close assistant to Shaykh Aminullah, arranging his travel around Pakistan and handling his correspondence and financial transactions.

Published in Dawn, February 8th, 2018