ISLAMABAD: The United States has designated Qari Amjad, the deputy chief of outlawed Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) along with three other members of “al-Qaeda in the Indian subcontinent” (AQIS), including Osama Mehmood, Atif Yahya Ghouri and Mohammad Maruf, as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs).

In a statement, US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said that the United States is committed to using its full set of counterterrorism tools to counter the threat posed by terrorist groups operating in Afghanistan, including AQIS and TTP, as part of our relentless efforts to ensure that terrorists do not use Afghanistan as a platform for international terrorism.

“Yesterday, the Department of State designated four AQIS and TTP leaders as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGTs) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, as amended, for their leadership roles in their respective groups,” Secretary Blinken announced through the statement.

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Those designated as the SDGTs include Osama Mehmood, the emir of AQIS, Atif Yahya Ghouri, the deputy emir of AQIS, Mohammad Maruf, responsible for AQIS’ recruiting branch and Qari Amjad, the deputy emir of TTP who oversees operations and militants in Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa.

“As a result of these actions, all property and interests in property of those designated yesterday that are subject to the US jurisdiction are blocked, and all US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them,” the statement stated, adding that the actions again demonstrate that we will continue to use all relevant tools to uphold our commitment to see to it that international terrorists are not able to operate with impunity in Afghanistan.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2022