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U.S., Saudis Sanction Pakistani Orphanage Said To Front For Terrorists


Saudi Arabia and the United States on March 31 announced joint sanctions aimed at cutting off financing for terrorist groups in Pakistan and Afghanistan, including through a Pakistani orphanage.

The sanctions put four individuals and two groups on the U.S. Treasury Department's list of global terrorists, including James Alexander McLintock and his Pakistan-based Al-Rahmah Welfare Organization.

The Treasury Department said Al-Rahmah was a front for Al-Qaeda, the Taliban, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and other Afghan and Pakistani extremist groups, but went under the guise of helping orphans.

McLintock, a Scot who became a Taliban sympathizer, received donations from Britain and Persian Gulf states purportedly for orphans which he gave to the insurgents, the Treasury Department said.

Also sanctioned were Abdul Aziz Nuristani and the Jamia Asariya Madrassa, both in Peshawar; Naveed Qamar from Karachi; and Muhammad Ijaz Safarash, who was based in Saudi Arabia where he allegedly arranged travel documents and financial transfers for Lashkar-e-Taiba.

The announcement marks the second time that the United States and Saudi Arabia have worked together to disrupt the finances of Islamist militant groups.

Last April, they imposed joint sanctions against the Al-Furqan Foundation Welfare Trust, also based in Pakistan and Afghanistan.

Based on reporting by Reuters and AP

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