US names three Pakistanis as 'terrorist facilitators'

WASHINGTON: The United States has named three Pakistanis as key "terrorist facilitators", saying they worked closely with a well-known backer of Al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba 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, a boys school in Peshawar, into a training and recruiting base by Al-Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba.

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, has been in charge of raising funds and materials for Lashkar-e-Taiba 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.

"Treasury continues to aggressively pursue and expose radicals who support terrorist organizations and run illicit financial networks across South Asia," said Sigal Mandelker, Treasury Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence.

Last month, the United States imposed sanctions on six men said to be linked to the Afghan Taliban and the 'Haqqani Network', less than a month after US President Donald Trump ordered cuts in security aid to Pakistan over its alleged failure to crack down on terrorists.

Four of the individuals – Abdul Samad Sani, Abdul Qadeer Basir Abdul Baseer, Hafiz Mohammed Popalzai, and Maulawi Inayatullah – were designated for acting on behalf of the Taliban, while the remaining two – Faqir Muhammad and Gula Khan Hamidi – were sanctioned for acting on behalf of the Haqqani Network, the US Treasury Department stated.