M A I N   N E W S

Babbar Khalsa, ISYF on US terrorist list
Prohibits travel to US by their members
Ashish Kumar Sen Writes From Washington

THE Bush administration on Thursday designated the Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation (ISYF) “terrorist organisations for immigration purposes.”

The designation puts the groups on a “terrorist exclusion list,” prohibits travel to the US by their members and freezes their assets.

The two groups, among 10 included on the list, were acted against by Secretary of State Colin L. Powell after consultations with Attorney General John Ashcroft and the Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge.

As a result of this designation, the US government “excludes members and those providing material support to such entities from the United States,” said Adam Ereli, State Department deputy spokesman.

This will also facilitate US fulfillment of its United Nations obligation under UN Security Council Resolution 1373 to prevent the movement of terrorists or terrorist groups by effective border controls.

A Terrorist Exclusion List (TEL) designation bolsters homeland security efforts by facilitating the US government’s ability to exclude foreigners associated with entities on the list from entering the United States.

According to counter-terrorism documents, an organisation can be placed on the list if the Secretary of State finds that it “commits or incites to commit, under circumstances indicating an intention to cause death or serious bodily injury, a terrorist activity; prepares or plans a terrorist activity; gathers information on potential targets for terrorist activity; or provides material support to further terrorist activity.”

Once the designation goes into effect, foreigners providing support to or associated with TEL-designated organisations may be prevented from entering the US or, if already in the country, may in certain circumstances be deported.

The British government froze the assets of the Babbar Khalsa International and the International Sikh Youth Federation in November, 2001. Both groups were earlier banned under the Anti-Terrorism Act.

Other groups on the list include the Communist Party of Nepal (Maoist), Dhamat Houmet Daawa Salafia (DHDS), Eastern Turkistan Islamic Movement, Moroccan Islamic Combatant Groupt the Islamic International Brigade, the Riyadus-Salikhin Reconnaissance and Sabotage Battalion of Chechen Martyrs, the Special Purpose Islamic Regiment and the Tunisian Combat Group.

Meanwhile, the 2003 Report on Patterns of Global Terrorism, released in Washington on Thursday, reaffirmed Pakistan’s role as a “key partner in the war on terror.”

Pakistan “continued its close cooperation with the United States in law enforcement, border security, and counter-terrorism training.”

The report took note of attacks by “foreign-based and Kashmiri groups” operating in Jammu and Kashmir. The Indian Government, the report said, “remained steadfast in its desire to combat terrorism in 2003 and has worked closely with the United States in this regard.”

In March, last year, the Indian government announced that 32 terrorist organisations had been listed under the Prevention of Terrorism Act and, in July, informed Parliament that 702 persons had been arrested under the Act.

India is a party to all 12 of the international conventions and protocols relating to terrorism.