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23 December 2003

U.S. Redesignates Jaish e-Mohammed and Lashkar e-Tayyiba Foreign Terrorist Organizations

Action taken after review of groups' activities over the past two years

Secretary of State Colin Powell has renewed the designation of Jaish e-Mohammed and Lashkar e-Tayyiba as Foreign Terrorist Organizations, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher announced in a December 23 statement.

The renewal was made in consultation with Attorney General John Ashcroft and Treasury Secretary John Snow.

This action enables the U.S. government to deny visas to representatives of these groups, prohibits anyone subject to U.S. jurisdiction from providing them with material support, and requires U.S. financial institutions to block assets held by either entity.

Both Jaish e-Mohammed and Lashkar e-Tayyiba are based in Pakistan and were originally put on the terrorism list in 2001.

Following is the text of the statement:

(begin text)

U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
December 23, 2003

STATEMENT BY RICHARD BOUCHER, SPOKESMAN

Redesignation of Foreign Terrorist Organizations

The Secretary of State has redesignated two groups as Foreign Terrorist Organizations under U.S. law effective today: Jaish e-Mohammed and Lashkar e-Tayyiba. The initial designations of these groups in 2001 are due to expire on December 26, 2003.

By redesignating Jaish e-Mohammed and Lashkar e-Tayyiba as Foreign Terrorist Organizations and publishing that decision today in the Federal Register, we preserve the U.S. Government's ability to take action against them in accordance with the provisions of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended.

This act makes it illegal for persons in the United States or subject to U.S. jurisdiction to provide material support to these terrorist groups. It requires U.S. financial institutions to block assets held by them; and it enables us to deny visas to representatives of these groups.

The Secretary made this decision in consultation with the Attorney General and the Secretary of the Treasury after a thorough review of these groups' terrorist activities over the past two years.

In addition, in consultation with the Attorney General, the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Secretary has amended the designations of Jaish e-Mohammed and Lashkar e-Tayyiba under Executive Order 13224 to add new aliases currently in use by these terrorist organizations.

With these redesignations, the number of designated Foreign Terrorist Organizations remains at 36. As we carry on the global campaign against terrorism, we hope this list will help to isolate these terrorist organizations, to choke off their sources of financial support, and to prevent their members' movement across international borders.

(end text)

(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

This page printed from: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2003&m=December&x=20031223171637rethcirj0.1411859&t=usinfo/wf-latest.html