Author: PTI
Publication: The Pioneer
Date: March 8, 2009
URL: http://www.dailypioneer.com/161338/Charities-in-Pakistan-being-used-to-legitimise-extremism-US.html
The United States has said many charities
in Pakistan act as channels to fund terrorist organisations, besides providing
material support.
A senior official of the US Treasury Department
looking after terror financing said large amounts of charity meant for Pakistan
based organisations is being moved through hawala networks and hence is an
"enormous" challenge to India and the world as a whole.
"You know when you talk about Pakistan,
the charities that are there on the ground providing services guided by such
communities legitimising violent extremist movements. They are very important
for that," Acting Assistant Secretary (Terrorist Financing) of US Department
of the Treasury Daniel Glaser told PTI.
Glaser who was in the national capital recently
said such organisations move their money through alternate remittance system
or hawala and that is an "enormous, enormous challenge to India and to
all of us."
He said it is beyond dispute that charities
are a primary means by which terrorists raise, move, and utilise funds.
"Most terrorist organisations openly
advertise themselves as charities. Charities represent a uniquely ideal vehicle
not just to raise and move funds, but to provide material support to violent
extremist movements in the form of radicalisation, indoctrination and logistical
cover and support," he said.
Glaser also said terror groups may be investing
in stock markets like 'every one else' to fund their nefarious activities
and could also be manipulating them though there are not much evidence to
suggest it.
He said there have been discussions at various
levels of stock markets being manipulated by terrorists but he is yet to see
any evidence.
"There were lot of discussions about
stock markets being manipulated by terrorists. I don't think there are lot
of evidence that it (manipulation) actually happens," he said.
Glaser added, "It is a pretty challenging
thing to do, to manipulate the markets. As you can see with everything going
on now, even the people who have very deep understanding of the stock markets,
sometime do not get it right. So I don't know how terrorists might actually
successfully manipulate stock markets."
He, however, said, "They (terrorists)
must be investing like everyone else."
When asked further on evidence of stock market
manipulations, he said, "I have not seen any, does not mean it is not
there but I have not seen anything" and added, "In a way everything
is possible but I have not seen evidence."
Incidentally, National Security Adviser M
K Narayanan had in 2007 said manipulation of stock exchanges is the new modus
operandi used by terrorist groups to raise funds for their operations and
fictitious companies have operated in the Mumbai and Chennai stock exchanges.
