For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
December 20, 2001
Fact Sheet
Day 100 of the War on Terrorism: More Steps to Shut Down Terrorist Support Networks
"Our attack on terrorist finances is
progressing. The assets of more than 150
known terrorists, their organizations, and their bankers
have been frozen by the United States. 142
countries have issued blocking orders of their
own."
President George W. Bush
December 20, 2001
Today's Action
President Bush today announced the
blocking of assets of Umma Tameer-e-Nau (UTN), a non-governmental
organization founded by Pakistani nuclear scientists that has provided
information to Usama bin Laden and the Taliban about chemical,
biological, and nuclear weapons. Today's designation also
blocks the assets of three key directors of UTN: Bashir-ud-Din
Mahmood, founder of UTN and formerly the director for nuclear power at
the Pakistani Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC); Abdul Majeed,
a former high- ranking official at the PAEC and an expert in nuclear
fuels; and S.M. Tufail, an industrialist.
President Bush also announced the blocking
of assets of Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET), a Kashmiri terrorist organization
that has conducted a number of operations against Indian troops and
civilian targets in Kashmir since 1993.
Today's action is taken under the
authority of Executive Order 13224, signed by the President on
September 23, which authorizes aggressive actions against the bankers
of international terrorism.
With today's action, the U.S. has now
designated 158 individuals and organizations pursuant to Executive
Order 13224.
Umma Tameer-E-Nau (UTN)
UTN was founded by Pakistani nuclear
scientists with close ties to Usama bin Laden and the Taliban.
The leader of UTN, Bashir-ud-Din Mahmood,
founded UTN after leaving the PAEC, where he most recently served as
Director for Nuclear Power. He previously served as the
director of Pakistan's Khushab Atomic Reactor and was involved in the
early days of Pakistan's uranium enrichment program. The
Khushab atomic plant now produces enough plutonium for as many as two
nuclear bombs a year. For his work at Khuschab, Mahmood
received one of the highest civilian awards in Pakistan.
Mahmood left the PAEC after criticizing
the Government of Pakistan's movement towards signing the comprehensive
test ban treaty. He has also advocated equipping other
Islamic nations with enriched uranium and weapons-grade plutonium.
UTN has been linked to WAFA Humanitarian
Organization and Al Rashid Trust, two other non-governmental
organizations with ties to al-Qaeda that were designated on September
23, 2001 as supporters of terrorism under Executive Order
13224.
UTN Has Advised The Taliban, Usama bin Laden, And Al-Qaeda About
The Development Of Weapons Of Mass Destruction
During repeated UTN visits to Afghanistan,
UTN directors and members have met with Usama bin Laden, al-Qaeda
leaders, and Mullah Omar, the leader of the Taliban,
and discussed the development of chemical, biological, and
nuclear weapons.
During 2001, Mahmood met with
Mullah Omar and with Usama bin Laden. During a
follow-up meeting, an associate of Usama bin Laden indicated
he had nuclear material and wanted to know how to use it to make a
weapon. Mahmood provided information about the infrastructure needed
for a nuclear weapons program and the effects of nuclear weapons.
In November 2001, the Taliban left Kabul
and the workers at UTN's Kabul offices fled the area with
them. Searches of UTN locations in Kabul have yielded
documents setting out a plan to kidnap a U.S. attach? and outlining
basic nuclear physics related to nuclear weapons.
Lashkar-E-Tayyiba (LET)
Lashkar-e-Tayyiba (LET) is the armed wing
of the Pakistan-based religious organization, Markaz-ud-Dawa-wal-Irshad
(MDI), a Sunni anti-US missionary organization formed in
1989. LET is one of the three largest and best-trained
groups fighting in Kashmir against India, and is not connected to a
political party. LET's leader is MDI chief, Professor Hafiz
Mohammed Saeed.
LET has conducted a number of
operations against Indian troops and civilian targets in Kashmir since
1993. LET is suspected of eight separate attacks in August
that killed nearly 100, mostly Hindu Indians. LET militants
are suspected of kidnapping six persons in Akhala, India, in November
2000 and killing five of them.
LET has
several hundred members in Azad Kashmir, Pakistan, and in India's
southern Kashmir and Doda regions. In their operations, LET
uses assault rifles, light and heavy machineguns, mortars, explosives,
and rocket propelled grenades.
LET is based
in Muridke (near Lahore) and Muzaffarabad. LET trains its
militants in mobile training camps across Pakistan-administered Kashmir
and Afghanistan. LET collects donations from the Pakistani community
in the Persian Gulf and United Kingdom, Islamic NGOs, and Pakistani and
Kashmiri businessmen. The amount of LT funding is
unknown. LET maintains ties to religious/military groups
around the world, ranging from the Philippines to the Middle East and
Chechnya through the MDI fraternal network.
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