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On the eve of United States President Barack Obama's maiden visit to India, the US Treasury on Thursday targeted the financial and support networks of the Lashkar-e-Tayiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed and also took action against Azam Cheema, who helped train operatives for the November 2008 Mumbai attacks and was the "mastermind" behind the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings carried out by LeT.
The treasury also acted against Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki, head of LeT's political affairs department, for acting for or on behalf of LeT while Al Rehmat Trust, an operational front for JeM designated for providing support to and for acting for or on behalf of the outfit, and Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi, JeM's founder and leader, was also designated for acting for on behalf of JEM.
The action was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which prohibits US persons from engaging in any transactions with these individuals and entity and freezes any assets the designees have under US jurisdiction.
Stuart Levey, Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, said, "LeT and JeM have proven both their willingness and ability to execute attacks against innocent civilians, and today's action --including the designation of Azam Cheema, one of LET's leading commanders who was involved in the 2008 and 2006 Mumbai attacks -- is an important step in incapacitating the operational and financial networks of these deadly organizations."
The Treasury described Cheema as the key commander in the operations of LeT, which has links to Osama bin Laden and the Al Qaeda network. LET was designated by the United States pursuant to EO 13224 and as a Foreign Terrorist Organization in December 2001, and also designated by the UN 1267 Committee in May 2005.
Cheema has also been described as Lashkar's surveillance or intelligence chief and has been involved in the outfit's training activities, specifically training LeT members in bomb making and skills needed to infiltrate to India.
The cell that carried out the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai received some of their training from Cheema. He is also reported to have been involved in the July 2006 Mumbai train bombings perpetrated by LET, Levey noted.
In 2008, Cheema, the former LeT commander for Bahawalpur, Punjab Province, Pakistan, was appointed to be an operations advisor to LeT senior leader Zaki-Ur-Rehman Lakhvi, who was also previously designated by the UN 1267 Committee. As of 2004, Cheema was identified as being responsible for LeT's external operational planning.
As of late 2008, Hafiz Abdul Rahman Makki was reported to be the head of LeT's political affairs department and served as head of the outfit's foreign relations department. Makki has also played a role in raising funds for LeT. In early 2007, he gave approximately $248,000 to terror training camp and approximately $165,000 to an LeT-affiliated madrassa.
JEM was designated in October 2001 by the United States pursuant to EO 13224 and by the UN 1267 Committee, and also designated as a Foreign Terrorist Organisation by the State Department in 2001.
After it was banned in Pakistan in 2002, JeM began using Al Rehmat Trust as a front for its operations. Al Rehmat Trust has provided support for militant activities in Afghanistan and Pakistan, including financial and logistical support to foreign fighters operating in both countries. In early 2009, several prominent members of Al Rehmat Trust were recruiting students for terrorist activities in Afghanistan.
Al Rehmat Trust, the Treasury said, has also been involved in fundraising for JeM, including for militant training and indoctrination at its mosques and madrassas.
As of early 2009, Al Rehmat Trust had initiated a donation program in Pakistan to help support families of militants who had been arrested or killed.
And in early 2007, Al Rehmat Trust was raising funds on behalf of Khudam-ul Islam, an alias for JeM. Al Rehmat Trust has also provided financial support and other services to the Taliban, including financial support to wounded Taliban fighters from Afghanistan.
Mohammed Masood Azhar Alvi (Azhar) founded JeM in 2000 and is the head of the Rehmat Trust. He is also a former leader of the terrorist group Harkat-ul-Mujahideen, aka Harakat ul-Ansar; most of these groups' members subsequently joined JeM under Azhar's leadership.
In 2008, JeM recruitment posters in Pakistan contained a call from Azhar for volunteers to join the fight in Afghanistan against Western forces.