Faces Behind Terror: The Four Men Facing US, Saudi Crackdown

Washington: The United States and Saudi Arabia have imposed sanctions on four men and two organisations they run to fund terror networks of Al Qaida, Taliban and the Lashkar-e-Taiba. The operations they run are spread across Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, the US Treasury says.

The US Department of Treasury has said that the move is meant to "financially cripple" terror financiers. It will freeze all the money, accounts and operations they have in both nations.

The list includes James Alexander McLintock and his Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation, Abdul Aziz Nuristani and his Jamia Asariya Madrassa, Naveed Qamar, and Muhammad Ijaz Safarash. All four men have been declared "Specially Designated Global Terrorists".

James Alexander McLintock's Al-Rahmah Welfare Organisation is a front organisation for Al-Qaida, which also finances Taliban, Lashkar and other Afghan extremist groups.

It raises money from the UK and Persian Gulf under the guise of helping orphans. Collecting photos of children from terrorists, it falsifies papers for donation purposes. The proceeds are then channeled to the coffers of Al Qaeda, the US treasury department said.

In June 2013, McLintock helped smuggle cash to insurgents in Afghanistan and transferred materials for the construction of improvised explosive devices between Pakistan and Afghanistan.

But besides the organisation, McLintock has also personally supported multiple terrorist groups.

Abdul Aziz Nuristani led the Pakistan-based Jamia Asariya for over two decades and provided support to multiple terrorist groups. The organisation had been used a conduit to bring money into Pakistan from Gulf countries and for Al Qaida.

Over the years, it distributed thousands of dollars' worth of supplies to Lashkar camps in Pakistan. A Taliban leader till 2010, he also helped Taliban with financial support and recruited terrorists from his madrasa in Peshawar.

Saudi Arabia-based Muhammad Ijaz Safarash provided financial, material or technological support for Lashkar. A Lashkar operative for years, he acquired travel documents and facilitated financial transfers in Saudi Arabia.

Till last year, he sent hundreds of thousands of dollars to Lashkar. Even Lashkar chief Zaki ur-Rehman Lakhvi has benefited from Safarash's financial support.

Naveed Qamar held multiple positions of authority within Lashkar and supported its fundraising activities since 2004, the US has said. In January 2015, he was identified as a leader of Laskar.

He raised funds from Pakistani businessmen and organised trips for them to Lashkar training camps to show how their funds were used. He also coordinated and brought in funds from Falah-e Insaniat Foundation - a US and UN designated non-profit working for Lashkar.