UN security council sanctions splinter group of Pak Taliban

The sanctions on Jamaat-ul-Ahrar subject it to an assets freeze and an arms embargo.

A splinter group of the Pakistani Taliban, which has been linked to the Islamic State group, has been sanctioned by the UN security council, subjecting it to assets freeze and an arms embargo.

Jamaat-ul-Ahrar was formed in August 2014 in Pakistan’s Mohmand Agency region. (Reuters File)

The security council’s al-Qaida Sanctions Committee added Jamaat-ul-Ahrar to the ISIL (Islamic State) and Al-Qaida Sanctions List on Thursday.

The outfit operates from Afghanistan’s Nangarhar province and Mohmand Agency, a district in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas of Pakistan.

According to the UN website, Jamaat-ul-Ahrar — formed in August 2014 in Mohmand Agency — is the splinter group of the Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan and is associated with the Islamic State. The outfit was banned in Pakistan in November last year.