ISLAMABAD, Pakistan: The Foreign Office said on Thursday that Pakistan welcomes the decision of the United States to designate Jamaat-ul-Ahrar as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT).
“The Department of State has designated Jamaat-ul-Ahrar as Specially Designated Global Terrorist (SDGT) under Executive Order (E.O.) 13224,” said a statement issued on Wednesday by the US State Department Spokesman.
Jamaat-ul-Ahrar, a splinter group of the outlawed Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP) based in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border region and founded in August 2014 by a former TTP leader, has staged multiple attacks in the region targeting civilians, religious minorities, military personnel and law enforcement agencies.
In his weekly media briefing in Islamabad on Thursday, the Foreign Office Spokesman Nafees Zakaria said that Pakistan has long been pleading to take concrete action against the TTP and other groups which are perpetrating attacks in Pakistan while operating from Afghanistan.
“Pakistan has long pleaded concrete action against the TTP and their like who operate in Afghanistan, and they have planned and launched a number of attacks in Pakistan while operating from there,” Zakaria said while responding to a question about the proscription of Jamaat-e-Ahrar by the US.
Under the Executive Order (E.O.) 13224, the US imposes sanctions on foreign persons and groups determined to have committed, or pose a significant risk of committing, acts of terrorism that threaten the security of US nationals or the national security, foreign policy, or economy of the United States.
