The White House is on the verge of blacklisting the Haqqani network, blamed for a string of deadly attacks on US and Afghan forces, as a terrorist organisation, a leading American newspaper reported on Friday.
Expected later in the day, the Obama administration’s decision comes after two years of an intense debate that reached a peak in August under the pressure of a Congressional reporting deadline on Sunday.
Designating the outfit would help choke the group’s fund-raising activities in countries like Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates and force Pakistan into launching an operation against the militants, the New York Times said.
“Many senior officials, including several in the White House, expressed deep reservations that blacklisting the group could further damage frayed relations with Pakistan, undercut peace talks with the Taliban…,” the report added.
However, over the past few days, backers of the move eased the concerns or presented contingencies to alleviate the risks. One unnamed official was quoted as saying: “This shows that we are using everything we can to put the squeeze on these guys.”
Although National Security Council and State Department spokeswomen declined to comment on the decision, four administration officials told the paper that the government was going ahead with the designation.
In the past four years, Haqqani-linked militants allegedly conducted suicide attackers on US and Indian embassies, as well as the International Security Assistance Force headquarters, hotels and restaurants in Kabul.
Congress approved a piece of legislation that President Obama signed into law on Aug. 10 giving Secretary of State Hillary Clinton a month to determine whether the Haqqani network is a terrorist group, and report her decision to lawmakers by September 9.
