Canada blacklists Tehreek-e-Taliban

OTTAWA: Canada designated Tehreek-e-Taliban, a militant group behind a wave of bombings in Pakistan and a foiled plot to set off a New York City blast, as a terrorist organization on Tuesday.

Putting the Tehreek-e-Taliban on the terrorism blacklist is "an essential part of our efforts to combat terrorism and keep our communities safe," said Vic Toews, Canada's minister of public safety.

He noted the group has claimed responsibility for "multiple" suicide attacks in Pakistan, as well as a May 2010 bombing attempt of New York's Times Square.

Behind a campaign of bombings that have killed over 3,500 people in Pakistan in the last four years, the TTP became the 43rd group on Canada's blacklist, which includes al Qaeda, Colombia's leftist FARC rebels and Hamas, the Palestinian rulers of the Gaza Strip.

The move means that people in Canada and Canadians abroad are prohibited from "knowingly dealing with assets owned or controlled by the TTP" and that it will now be an offense to "knowingly participate in, contribute to or facilitate certain activities of" the group.

Copyright AFP (Agence France-Presse), 2011