US puts LeT commander, group's two financial facilitators on list of specially designated global terrorists

Washington:  The United States on Tuesday designated Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil and two financial facilitators of the Pakistan-based terror group, Hameed-ul Hassan and Abdul Jabbar, as “specially designated global terrorists”. A longtime member of the US-designated Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) and LeT, Dakhil was an operational leader for the groups’ attacks in India between 1997 and 2001. In 2004, he was captured in Iraq by UK forces, then held in US custody in Iraq and Afghanistan until his transfer to Pakistan in 2014. [caption id=“attachment_4345293” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Representational image. PTI[/caption] After his release from Pakistani custody, Dakhil returned to work for the LeT. In 2016, he was the LeT divisional commander for the Jammu region. As of early 2018, he remained a senior commander in the LeT. The designation seeks to deny Dakhil the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks, the US State Department said in a statement. Among other consequences, all of his property and interests subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with him. “Today’s action notifies the US public and the international community that Abdul Rehman al-Dakhil has committed, or poses a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism,” the State Department said, adding that designations of terrorist individuals and groups expose and isolate organisations and individuals, and deny them access to the US financial system. In a separate statement, Treasury Under-Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker said the two LeT financial facilitators are responsible for collecting, transporting and distributing funds to support the terror group and provide salaries to extremists. “Treasury’s designations not only aim to expose and shut down the LeT’s financial network, but also to curtail its ability to raise funds to carry out violent terrorist attacks,” he said. As a result of the designation, all property and interests in property of Hassan and Jabbar subject to US jurisdiction are now blocked. US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in transactions with them. As of late 2016, Hassan worked with the Falah-e Insaniat Foundation, a front for the LeT, to collect and send funds to Syria. Till early 2016, Hassan worked with his brother Muhammad Ijaz Safarash and Khalid Walid to transport funds to Pakistan on behalf of the LeT. The Office of Foreign Assets Control previously designated Safarash and Walid as specially designated global terrorists for their association with the LeT in March 2016 and September 2012, respectively. Additionally, Hassan has an active Twitter account, which identifies him as a leader of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir. According to the US treasury department , Jabbar is a financial facilitator for the LeT and distributes salaries for the terrorist group. He has worked in the LeT’s finance department since around 2000. Additionally, as of mid-2016, Jabbar distributed funds on behalf of the Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation. In December 2001, the US State Department designated the LeT as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation. The LeT was also added to the UN Security Council’s Sanctions List in May 2005. The JuD was designated as an alias of the LeT pursuant in April 2006 and was added to the UN Security Council’s Sanctions List in December 2008. In November 2010, the US State Department amended its designations of LeT to include the alias Falah-e Insaniat Foundation. In March 2012, the UN amended its Sanctions List to recognise the Falah-e Insaniat Foundation as a front for the LeT.