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| Great White North |
| Canada officially declares Taliban and Haqqani network as terrorists |
| 2013-05-15 |
| More than a decade after going to war against the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Canadian government has officially declared them a terrorist group. The Taliban has been added to the so-called list of entities, along with the Haqqani network, an Islamist group believed to be behind ongoing attacks on international coalition forces in Afghanistan. Both were added by Public Safety Minister Vic Toews earlier this month, bringing to 46 the number of groups on the terrorist list, which was set up in the wake of the 9/11 attacks. Any person or group on that list can have their assets seized, and criminal penalties exist for assisting so-called listed entities with the aim of helping them carry out extremist activities. Canada had effectively barred Canadian institutions from doing business with the Taliban in 1999, when it signed on to the al-Qaida Sanctions List developed by the United Nations. The addition of the Taliban to Canada's own list makes Canada the first NATO country to use domestic law to outlaw the group, said Julie Carmichael, a spokesman for Public Safety Minister Vic Toews. |
| Posted by:tipper |