Al-Haramain Foundation in News Again, For Obvious Reasons!
By Animesh Roul
Infamous Saudi Arabia based charity Al-Haramain Foundation (AHF) once again appeared in the news. According to a report prepared by Pakistani police (the Crime Investigation Department), the AHF has funded approximately USD 15 million to Jihadi groups in Pakistan for carrying out terror attacks. These funds mostly went to the Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) which is responsible for numerous suicide strikes in the last couple of years and also blamed for the assassination of Benezir Bhutto.
The AHF, a Wahhabi Islamic charity, has been proscribed by the UN Security Council for its suspected links to international terror outfits like al-Qaeda and for its role in facilitating international terrorism through various ways of financing(it supports social, educational and humanitarian activities in countries with substantial Muslim population). Till 2004, the United States had designated at least thirteen AHF branch offices operating in Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan, in many African countries and in the United States. But in 2008, the US Treasury Department has designated (under Executive Order 13224) AHF’s world-wide operation, including operations in Saudi Arabia. However, despite these measures, AHF continues to operate and fund terror activities, perhaps with the tacit support of Saudi billionaires and to some extent, the government there.
