UN, US designate HuJI as terrorist organisation

The UN and the US have designated Harkat-ul Jihad al-Islami (HuJI) as a terrorist organisation and imposed sanctions on the group and its commander Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri.

The US department of treasury on Friday put the label "A Specially Designated Global Terrorist" on HuJI, a terrorist organisation most active in Pakistan, India and Bangladesh since the early 1990s.

Under US law, assets held by HuJI and Kashmiri in the US would be frozen and American people or companies would be prohibited from engaging in transactions with the group or with Kashmiri.

The UN also took a similar action against HuJI and Kashmiri.

"Mohammad Ilyas Kashmiri is at the core of HuJI's efforts to plan and carry out attacks against US forces and our allies. He is responsible for creating a cadre of militants to act on behalf of HuJI and Al Qaeda," Stuart Levey, the treasury's under secretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, was quoted as saying by Xinhua.

"In acting together, the US and the UN are today taking another important step in combating the threat that Al Qaeda and its affiliated organisations pose to innocent people around the world," said Levey.