US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will complete a reporting requirement within 30 days to determine whether the Afghan Haqqani militant group falls in the category of a foreign terrorist organization under the American law, the State Department said.
Clinton has to meet the 30-day deadline for completion of review process as stipulated under the Haqqani Network Terrorist Organization Act 2012, signed last week by President Barack Obama on the advice of US Congress. Washington holds the Haqqani network responsible for several terrorist attacks against American troops fighting insurgents in Afghanistan and alleges the militant group has found a sanctuary across the border in Pakistani tribal area of North Waziristan.
“We share the grave concern of the Congress with regard to the activities of the Haqqani Network. We have, as you know, both State and Treasury, designated a number of individuals within the network,” State Department spokesperson Victoria Nuland said at the daily briefing. President Obama signed the piece of legislation last Friday.
“The act gives the Secretary 30 days to report on the Haqqani Network, so that clock has just started ticking, and we’ll let you know when we have something to say. She’s considering right now and reviewing the issue.”
“We have grave concerns about the threat that they (Haqqanis) pose inside Pakistan and the threat that they pose across the border,” Nuland said. The State Department has been reviewing the question of whether to designate the entire Haqqani organization as a terrorist entity for some time but has made no decision.
The new reporting requirement, however, is separate and distinct. Clinton owes Congress now, within 30 days of last Friday, a report as to whether the Haqqani group meets the criteria for terrorist designation.
“Now you can obviously see a relationship between these two things, but the expectation is that she’ll meet the deadline in making the report,” the spokesperson noted.
