The United States has designated four leaders of Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) as global terrorists.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a press briefing, “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.”
“The United States is committed to countering the threat posed by terrorist groups in Afghanistan to ensure that terrorists do not use Afghanistan as a platform for international terrorism,” Blinkin stated.
The four individuals are Osama Mehmood—the emir of AQIS, Atif Yahya Ghouri— the deputy emir of AQIS, Muhammad Maruf— responsible for AQIS’ recruiting branch and Qari Amjad who is the deputy emir of TTP. He oversees operations and militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
The US secretary said as a result of these actions, all property and interests in property of those designated yesterday that were subject to US jurisdiction are blocked, and all US persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them.
