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WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of the Treasury today targeted the financial and support networks of al-Qai'da and the Taliban by designating two individuals for providing support to terrorists or acts of terrorism under Executive Order 13224. Mohammed Mazhar, the director of al-Akhtar Trust, was designated for his fundraising activities and financial and other support for al-Qai'da and the Taliban, and Mufti Abdul Rahim, leader of al-Rashid Trust, was designated for his fundraising activities for the Taliban. Al-Akhtar Trust and al-Rashid Trust are both Pakistani charities previously identified as Specially Designated Global Terrorists pursuant to Executive Order 13224, which freezes any assets the designated entities and individuals have under U.S. jurisdiction and prohibits U.S. persons from engaging in any transactions with those entities and individuals.
Today's designation of these two high-profile financiers of al-Qai'da and the Taliban, who are also leaders of al-Akhtar Trust and al-Rashid Trust, further exposes those organizations' continuing support for terrorism under the guise of charitable activity, said Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Stuart Levey.
Mohammed Mazhar
Mohammed Mazhar has served as al-Akhtar Trust's chairman, president and chief executive officer, and is currently the director of the trust, a position he has held since 2004. Mazhar is a long-standing supporter of al-Qai'da and has collected and held large amounts of money on behalf of this terrorist organization, holding as much as $1 million for al-Qai'da in 2002 and 2003. In his capacity as head of al-Akhtar Trust, Mazhar has led the trust's fundraising activities and provided financial and other support to al-Qai'da, the Taliban, and other militant groups. In early 2007, Mazhar made the decision to change the name of al-Akhtar Trust to Pakistan Relief Foundation, following the closure of al-Akhtar Trust's offices in Karachi, Pakistan.
In 2007, Mazhar received sizeable amounts of money from unidentified sources in the Gulf region to pass to al-Qai'da operatives fighting in Afghanistan, and frequently provided money to families of injured al-Qai'da members. Mazhar has also personally given large donations to al-Qai'da senior leader Usama bin Laden.
Mazhar has also led al-Akhtar Trust's efforts to support the Taliban. As of mid-2007, Mazhar was supporting the Taliban in Afghanistan through a Baluchistan, Pakistan-based madrassa that trained Taliban recruits to perform combat operations in Afghanistan. Mazhar was also once a member of Taliban combatant groups and has fought in Afghanistan.
Additionally, in 2004-2005, Mazhar arranged for small groups of businessmen from South Africa and the United Kingdom to travel to Pakistan every two to three months to courier al-Akhtar Trust donations into Pakistan.
Mufti Abdul Rahim
Mufti Abdul Rahim is the leader of al-Rashid Trust, a position he has held since 2002. Al-Rashid Trust has been raising money for the Taliban since 1999, and in his leadership capacity, Rahim handles the day-to-day management of the trust and acts as one of al-Rashid Trust's primary fundraisers. He has also served as al-Rashid Trust's chairman and, in 2009, filled a chief executive role on the board that runs the trust. As of late 2009, Rahim was a key supporter of Taliban operations in Afghanistan and Pakistan and had coordinated Taliban facilitation activities with al-Akhtar Trust leader Mohammed Mazhar.
Rahim has provided regular financial support to the Taliban and received numerous senior Taliban visitors at his madrassa in Karachi, Pakistan. In mid-2005, Rahim passed an unspecified amount of money to a Peshawar-based Taliban associate, who in turn distributed it among several Taliban commanders.
Identifying Information:
Mohammed Mazhar
AKA: Mohammad Mazhar
AKA: Mohammad Azhar
AKA: Maulawi Mohammad Mahazar
AKA: Maulana Hakim Mohammad Mazhar
AKA: Molavi Muhammad Mazhar
AKA: Maulana Mazar
AKA: Molana Mazhar
AKA: Hakim Mazhar
AKA: Hakeem Mohammad Mazhar
AKA: Hakim Muhammed Mazar
DOB: October 5, 1951
POB: Azamgarh, Uttar Pradesh, India
Address: ST 1/A, Block 2, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Karachi, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistan
Passport: Pakistani, KZ 550207
Alt. Passport: Pakistani, KC550207
Alt. Passport: Pakistani, G154297
Mufti Abdul Rahim
AKA: Mufti Abdur Rahim
AKA: Mufti Abdul Raheem
AKA: Mufti Muabdul Halim
AKA: Ustaad Sheheb
DOB: Circa 1955
Alt. DOB: Circa 1964
POB: Sarghoda region, Punjab Province, Pakistan
Residence: Karachi, Pakistan
Nationality: Pakistan
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