US blacklists Pakistani Taliban

Mehsud was today charged for being involved in the murder of seven Americans at a CIA base in Afghanistan last December, the deadliest attack on the agency since 1983.
The United States also offered rewards of up to USD 5 million each for information leading to the location of Mehsud and another top TTP commander Wali Ur Rehman, who was once a foe of Mehsud and now is his deputy Emir.

The group he heads was officially designated a "Foreign Terrorist Organisation" by the State Department, paving the way for additional State and Treasury Department sanctions.

For months last year, Mehsud now 31 was believed killed in a drone strike. However he made a dramatic re-appearance in a video footage on April 11 to threaten attacks on the US.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a note published in the federal register that Pakistani Taliban threatened US national security.Under his leadership, the al-Qaeda linked TTP has carried out some of the most audacious bombing campaign to be labelled as Pakistan's biggest terrorist group.

"The TTP is very much part of the most dangerous terrorist threat the United States faces. The TTP and al-Qaeda have a symbiotic relationship. TTP draws ideological guidance from al-Qaeda, while al-Qaeda relies on the TTP for safe haven in the Pashtun areas along the Afghan-Pakistani border," said Ambassador-at-Large for Counter terrorism, Daniel Benjamin.

The two-count criminal complaint, filed in the US District Court for the District of Columbia on August 20 and unsealed today, charged Mehsud with conspiracy to murder US citizens abroad and conspiracy to use a weapon of mass destruction (explosives) against US citizens abroad.

"Today's charges underscore our continuing commitment to seek justice for Americans who are murdered or victimised by overseas terrorist attacks," David Kris, Assistant Attorney General for National Security said.

Department of Justice made these announcements as the Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, designated Pakistani Taliban a foreign terrorist organisation and its leaders Hakimullah Mehsud and Wali-Ur-Rehman as a foreign terrorist.If convicted of the charges unsealed today, Hakimullah Mehsud faces a maximum sentence of life in prison.