US brands IM terror organisation

The United States on Thursday designated Indian Mujahedeen a global terrorist organization with links to Pakistan. In a surprising move, the US state department also cited the terror group’s “significant links to Pakistan” despite the efforts of some analysts in Washington and leaders in India to attribute an entirely indigenous hue to the group and its terror strikes. “IM maintains close ties to other US-designated terrorist entities including Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jaish-e-Mohammed (JEM) and Harakat ul-Jihadi-Islami (HUJI). IM’s stated goal is to carry out terrorist actions against non-Muslims in furtherance of its ultimate objective — an Islamic caliphate across South Asia,” a state department notification said. It also confirmed that IM “played a facilitative role in the 2008 Mumbai attack carried out by LeT that killed 163 people, including six Americans.” In a development that underscores the fact that Washington is no more indifferent to terror attacks in India, a media note from the state department acknowledged that “these designations highlight the threat posed by Indian Mujahideen not only to Western interests, but to India, a close US partner.” “The Indian populace has borne the brunt of IM’s wanton violence and today’s actions illustrate our solidarity with the Indian government,” said ambassador Daniel Benjamin, the department of state’s coordinator for counter terrorism.