US close to designating Haqqani network terror outfit: Hillary
September 29, 2011
WASHINGTON: US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said on Wednesday that Washington was close to making a decision on whether to designate the Pakistan-based Haqqani network as a foreign terrorist group.
“We are in the final, formal review that has to be undertaken to make a government-wide decision to designate the network as a foreign terrorist organisation,” Clinton told reporters in an appearance with Egypt’s visiting foreign minister. — Reuters
Monitoring Desk adds: Earlier, two US senators had urged Hillary to designate the Haqqani network as a terrorist organisation in the wake of several attacks against American and Nato facilities that top officials blame on the group.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Sen Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen Lindsey Graham urged the secretary of state to add the group to the list of officially designated foreign terrorist organisations, the Huffington Post reported.
The senators, both members of the Armed Services Committee, cited last week’s testimony by Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who blamed the Haqqani network for orchestrating a September attack on the US Embassy in Kabul. Mullen called the Haqqani network a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s military spy agency.
Online adds: Earlier State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters that the US is mulling on whether to designate the entire Haqqani network as an FTO, even as it has already slapped sanctions against seven of its top leaders, including Badruddin Haqqani who has been designated a global terrorist.
“We are continuing to review whether to designate the entire organisation an FTO. Quite a sizeable number of the Haqqani kingpins have been individually designated, but we are continuing to review the issue with regard to the whole organisation.”
“We are in the final, formal review that has to be undertaken to make a government-wide decision to designate the network as a foreign terrorist organisation,” Clinton told reporters in an appearance with Egypt’s visiting foreign minister. — Reuters
Monitoring Desk adds: Earlier, two US senators had urged Hillary to designate the Haqqani network as a terrorist organisation in the wake of several attacks against American and Nato facilities that top officials blame on the group.
In a letter sent Wednesday, Sen Kirsten Gillibrand and Sen Lindsey Graham urged the secretary of state to add the group to the list of officially designated foreign terrorist organisations, the Huffington Post reported.
The senators, both members of the Armed Services Committee, cited last week’s testimony by Adm. Michael Mullen, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who blamed the Haqqani network for orchestrating a September attack on the US Embassy in Kabul. Mullen called the Haqqani network a “veritable arm” of Pakistan’s military spy agency.
Online adds: Earlier State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland told reporters that the US is mulling on whether to designate the entire Haqqani network as an FTO, even as it has already slapped sanctions against seven of its top leaders, including Badruddin Haqqani who has been designated a global terrorist.
“We are continuing to review whether to designate the entire organisation an FTO. Quite a sizeable number of the Haqqani kingpins have been individually designated, but we are continuing to review the issue with regard to the whole organisation.”
