US, Saudia ban Pakistani charity Al-Furqan for supporting Alqaeda

The United States and Saudi Arabia had imposed sanctioned a Pakistani charity for allegedly financing violent extremist groups in Afghanistan and Pakistan under the guise of humanitarian work.

The sanctions target the Al-Furqan Foundation Welfare Trust, which the U.S. Treasury said had changed its name to avoid prior U.S. sanctions.

“We are committed to exposing terrorist financiers, especially those who masquerade as charities,” Adam Szubin, Treasury’s acting undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, said in a statement.

The Treasury said its sanctions would shut Al-Furqan out of the U.S. financial sector and prohibit Americans from doing business with the organization. Saudi Arabia also designated Al-Furqan under an anti-terrorism law, the Treasury said.

Its pertainign to mention here that all the terrorists Takfiri and Deobandi outfits working under the cover of charity organizations to infulence among the masses including the Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF) and Jammatud Dawaa (JuD), fronts for Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT); Maymar Trust, a front for the banned Al-Rasheed Trust (ART); Al-Rehmat Trust, a front for Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM); Pakistan Relief Foundation, a front for the banned Al-Akhter Trust (AAT); and more than a dozen smaller groups, Central Asia Online has learnt.

The militant groups’ use of aliases makes outright bans difficult, security analysts say.

Such groups merely use a different name to conceal the hand of the same leadership, said Muhammad Amir Rana, a security analyst and director of the Pak Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS).

The JeM militant group is active as Khidam-e-Islam, and collects funds and campaigns as Al-Rehmat Trust, he said. “Similarly, the LeT renamed itself as the JuD and is carrying out its charitable works and fund collection through the FIF.”