Washington, Oct 15: The Bush administration moved to financially paralyze a Pakistani-based charity that the US government suspects raised money for terrorists in Iraq The Treasury Department named al Akhtar Trust a specially designated global terrorist organisation, a move aimed at cutting the group off from the nation's financial system. The designation means any financial assets belonging to the group found in the United States must be frozen. It also means the group is prohibited from conducting any financial transactions in this country and Americans are barred from doing business with it. The treasury department said the charity provided financial support to al-Qaeda fighters in Afghanistan and is "suspected of raising money for jihad in Iraq and is connected to an individual with ties to the kidnapping and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl".
Citing information published by the wall street journal, the department said al-Saud Memon is primarily responsible for the trust's finances, and that he had driven into the compound where Pearl was being held on or about January 31 or February 1. Bureau Report