The Harakat ul-Mujahedin, a listed "terrorist" group in the United States, said Sunday it had moved its head office but dismissed reports it had been closed by Pakistani authorities.
The Harakat's accounts were frozen by the central State Bank of Pakistan on Wednesday, three days after it was named on a list of 27 individuals or groups identified as being linked to terrorism by US President George W. Bush.
A spokesman said the group, a prominent militant outfit fighting against Indian rule in the Himalayan state of Kashmir, had planned to shift its office well before Washington began its war on terrorism in response to the September 11 attacks in the United States.
Another Harakat source said the group's previous office was located near important government buildings, and authorities had "suggested" they shift.
Pakistan has promised its "full cooperation" with the international community's efforts to wipe out alleged terrorist groups, but has long been accused of turning a blind eye to Islamic militants fighting in Kashmir.
Kashmir is divided between India and Pakistan and claimed by both. Pakistan denies Indian allegations its fuels "cross-border terrorism" on the Indian side of the Muslim-majority state.
The US State Department, in a report released in April, claimed that Harakat chief Farooq Kashmiri was linked to Saudi dissident Osama bin Laden, the prime suspect believed to be behind the suicide hijackings in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania which killed some 6,000 people earlier this month -- MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (AFP)
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
