An Afghan security force member stands on a military vehicle during an operation in Nad Ali district of Helmand province, Afghanistan, Oct. 13, 2017. At least 12 militants loyal to the Taliban group have been killed and six others wounded, following a series of government forces air-and-ground operations to retake Nad Ali and Marja districts of Helmand province, an official said. (Xinhua/Abdul Aziz Safdari)
WASHINGTON, Jan. 25 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. Treasury announced on Thursday that it has imposed sanctions on six individuals whom it alleged were linked to Taliban and the Afghan guerilla insurgent group Haqqani network.
The designation stopped the six men, who are either Pakistanis or Afghans living in Pakistan, from accessing the U.S. financial system.
Today's action supported President Donald Trump's South Asia Strategy, said Sigal Mandelker, under secretary of the Treasury, in a statement.
"The Pakistani government must work with us to deny the Taliban and the Haqqani Network sanctuary and to aggressively target their terrorist fundraising," Mandelker said.
Suspected Taliban militants stand handcuffed in Jalalabad city, Nangarhar province, Afghanistan, Sept. 18, 2017. (Xinhua/Rahman Safi)
The sanctions came three weeks after the U.S. government announced a significant suspension of its aid to Pakistan for its "failure" to take decisive action against these groups.
Washington has accused these groups of "destabilizing the region and also targeting U.S. personnel" inside Pakistan.
Photo taken with mobile phone on May 22, 2016 shows a destroyed vehicle believed to be hit by a U.S. drone strike in Ahmad Wal, a small town in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province. Pakistani government sources have confirmed the killing of the Afghan Taliban top leader Mullah Akhtar Mansoor in a U.S. drone strike in the country's southwest remote area of the Pak-Afghan border region, reported local Urdu TV channel ARY. (Xinhua/Stringer)
In response, Pakistan summoned the U.S. ambassador to Pakistan to lodge a protest earlier this month, saying Pakistan has taken action against all militant groups without any discrimination and its sacrifices are being ignored.
As a result of the Treasury's action, any property or interests of the designated persons in the United States will be blocked and transactions by Americans involving these persons are generally prohibited.
