Washington: The US on Friday declared Pakistan-based HuJI as a foreign terrorist organisation and slapped sanctions on its commander Mohammad Illyas Kashmiri, believed to have been in close contact with Lashkar-e-Taiba operative David Headley, for their terrorist activities in India and Pakistan.
HUJI and Kashmiri have been involved in a series of terrorist activities in India, including the attack on a mosque in Hyderabad in 2007 that killed 16 people and the March 2007 Varanasi terrorist attacks that killed at least 25 people and left another 100 injured.
His name also cropped in 26/11 attacks case and Kashmiri is believed to have been in close contact with David Headley, who has pleaded guilty to plotting the 26/11 attacks.
Simultaneously, the UN also announced similar sanctions against HUJI and Kashmiri at its headquarters in New York.
"Mohammad Illyas Kashmiri is at the core of HUJI's efforts to plan and carry out attacks against US forces and our allies. He is responsible for creating a cadre of militants to act on behalf of HUJI and al-Qaeda," said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey.
"In acting together, the United States and United Nations are today taking another important step in combating the threat that al-Qaeda and its affiliated organizations pose to innocent people around the world," Levey said in a statement.
Today's action against Kashmiri was taken pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which freezes any assets Kashmiri has under US jurisdiction and prohibits US persons from engaging in any transactions with him.
"The United Nations also took similar actions against HUJI and Mohammad Illyas Kashmiri today," the US Department of Treasury said in a statement.
As HUJI commander, Kashmiri provides support to al-Qaeda operations, including logistical support for al-Qaeda's terrorist attacks, the Treasury said.
HUJI is also responsible for terrorist attacks in India, the Treasury said.
Kashmiri has supported attacks against Pakistani government personnel and facilities, including the 2009 attack against the offices of ISI and Pakistani police in Lahore that killed 23 people and left hundreds injured.
He directed the October 2008 assassination of the former commander of the Pakistani Special Services Group, General Amir Faisal Alvi, in retaliation for his role in the fight against militants in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.
Kashmiri also led an al-Qaeda-linked cell in planning for the assassination of a Pakistani Army general a plan that was eventually abandoned due to al-Qaeda's strategic considerations, the Treasury said.
Since 2001, Kashmiri has led HUJI training camps that specialised in terrorist operations, military tactics, and cross-border operations, including a militant training center in Miram Shah, North Waziristan in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.
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