U.S. designates more entities as terrorist individuals and organizations

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In a statement from Secretary of State Antony Blinken Dec. 1, 2022, the State Department announced it is including al-Qa’ida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) and Tehrik-e Taliban Pakistan (TTP), “as part of our relentless efforts to ensure that terrorists do not use Afghanistan as a platform for international terrorism.”

On November 30, the State Department 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:

• Osama Mehmood is the emir of AQIS
• Atif Yahya Ghouri is the deputy emir of AQIS.
• Muhammad Maruf is responsible for AQIS’ recruiting branch.
• Qari Amjad is the deputy emir of TTP. He oversees operations and militants in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province.

As a result of these actions, all property and interests in property of those designated that are subject to U.S. jurisdiction are blocked, and all U.S. persons are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them, the press release from State said.

“Yesterday’s 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,” it added.