US charges six for supporting Pakistani Taliban

The Pakistani Taliban is classified as a designated foreign terrorist organisation by the US government. The indictment was announced by the US Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and local FBI agents at a time when relations with Pakistan are strained over the raid that killed Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in Pakistan. Three of the accused, who are all originally from Pakistan, were US citizens arrested in South Florida and Los Angeles. They include two Imans from mosques in Florida. The other three charged were living in Pakistan and still at large.All six were charged in a four-count indictment with being involved in a conspiracy to murder, maim and kidnap persons overseas, as well with conspiring to provide material support to the Pakistani Taliban. Two of the accused, Hafiz Muhammed Sher Ali Khan, 76, and his son, Izhar Khan, 24, were arrested in South Florida. Another son, Irfan Khan, 37, was detained in Los Angeles.Hafiz Khan is the Imam at the Miami Mosque, also known as the Flagler Mosque, in Miami. His son, Izhar Khan, is an Imam at the Jamaat Al-Mumineen Mosque in Margate, Florida, the four-count indictment said. The other three charged, Ali Rehman, Alam Zeb and Amina Khan, were living in Pakistan and still at large. Amina Khan is the daughter of Hafiz Khan and her son, Alam Zeb, is his grandson.The defendants sought to aid the Pakistani Talibans fight against the Pakistani government and its perceived allies, including the United States, by supporting acts of murder, kidnapping, and maiming in Pakistan and elsewhere, said the indictment released by the US attorneys office in Miami.If convicted, each would face a potential 15 years in prison for each count of the indictment. Let me be clear that this is not an indictment against a particular community or religion. Instead, todays indictment charges six individuals for promoting terror and violence through their financial and other support of the Pakistani Taliban, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida, Wifredo A. Ferrer, said in a statement.