Lawmakers push for designating the Taliban a terrorist organization
Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, said in court Monday that his failed car bomb plot was backed and financed by the Pakistan Taliban; the group, though, is not yet labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, unlike al Qaeda and its affiliates; lawmakers want to change that
A day after a guilty plea in the attempted bombing of Times Square, a group of senators is seeking to force the Obama administration to declare that the Pakistan Taliban group behind the attack is a terrorist group.
Faisal Shahzad, a U.S. citizen born in Pakistan, said in court Monday that his failed car bomb plot was backed and financed by the Pakistan Taliban. The Wall Street Journal’s Devlin Barrett writes that the group, though, is not yet labeled a terrorist organization by the U.S. government, unlike al Qaeda and its affiliates. Placing the Pakistan Taliban on the State Department’s list of terror organizations is more than just a bureaucratic step. It would allow the United States to seize assets of the Pakistan Taliban, and permit prosecutors to charge individuals with providing material support to the group.
Weeks ago, the senators from New York and New Jersey urged the State Department to add the Pakistan Taliban to the list. On Tuesday, they announce proposed legislation forcing the government to do so.
The State Department, which handles the U.S. list of terror designations, says it is reviewing the matter. “Designation of the TTP is something we’re actively evaluating,” said P. J. Crowley, State Department spokesman.
