Big setback for ‘Global Terrorist’ Hafiz Saeed: US designates ‘Milli Muslim League’ as a terror outfit

The Department of State has amended the designation of LeT to include the aliases Milli Muslim League (MML) and Tehreek-e- Azadi-e Kashmir (TAJK). The US also made it clear that they are focused on exposing such outfits and that they would be totally isolated.

“The aliases have been added to LeT’s designations as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation (FTO) under Section 219 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, and as a Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order 13224,” read a statement of the State Department.

“Today’s amendments aim at LeT’s efforts to circumvent sanctions and deceive the public about its true character. Make no mistake: whatever LeT chooses to call itself, it remains a violent terrorist group. The United States supports all efforts to ensure that LeT does not have a political voice until it gives up violence as a tool of influence,” noted Ambassador Nathan A Sales, the Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State.

Following the decision of US Department of State, the US Department of the Treasury also designated seven members of the MML central leadership body for acting for on behalf of LeT. These include: Saifullah Khalid, Muzammil Iqbal Hashimi, Muhammad Harris Dar, Tabish Qayyuum, Fayyaz Ahmad, Faisal Nadeem, and Muhammad Ehsan.

Over the years since it was proscribed, the LeT has frequently changed its name to avoid sanctions. The formation of MML was announced in August last year by Jamaatud Dawa (JuD), a charity that the US accuses of being a front for anti-India militant group, as a mainstream political front for Hafiz Saeed.

In February, Pakistan has declared Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist. The move is a part of an ordinance that it introduced to ban all individuals and organizations sanctioned against by the UN Security Council. With this Saeed and his organisation JuD come under the ambit of the Anti-Terrorism Act.

The 67-yr old LeT founder Hafiz Seed has a $10 million American bounty on his head for terror activities. Saeed, the mastermind of the Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people, including six Americans, was included in the terror list on December 10, 2008, by the United Nations Security Council.