US redesignates LJ, LeT as terrorist outfits.

Byline: Anwar Iqbal

WASHINGTON -- In one of his final acts as the US Secretary of State, Michael Pompeo has redesignated Lashkar-i-Jhangvi (LJ) and Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) as foreign terrorist organisations.

A statement issued in Washington on Thursday evening said that the Department of State had amended the terrorist designations of Lashkar-i-Jhangvi and ISIL Sinai Peninsula (ISIL-SP) group to include additional aliases the two groups use. These aliases have been added to LJ and ISIL-SP's designations as Foreign Terrorist Organisations (FTO) and as Specially Designated Global Terrorists (SDGT).

Additionally, the department has 'reviewed and maintained the FTO designations of LJ, ISIL-SP, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaysh Rijal al-Tariq al Naqshabandi, Jama'atu Ansarul Muslimina Fi Biladis-Sudan (Ansaru), al-Nusra Front, Continuity Irish Republican Army, and the National Liberation Army,' the statement added.

The FTO and SDGT designations seek to deny these terrorist organisations the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks.

Their property and interests in the United States or within the possession or control of US persons are blocked, and US persons are prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them. In the US, it is a federal crime to knowingly provide or...