WASHINGTON, Oct. 27 (UPI) -- The U.S. government designated two suspected Afghan narcotics traffickers as terrorists for their alleged role in financing the Taliban insurgency.
The U.S. Treasury Department announced it froze the assets and designated as terrorists Haji Agha Jan Alizai and Saleh Mohammad Kakar for narcotics trafficking and material support for the Taliban.
"Both Haji Agha Jan Alizai and Saleh Mohammad Kakar are dangerous individuals whose operations pose a grave threat to efforts to stabilize Afghanistan," said Stuart Levey, the U.S. undersecretary for terrorism and financial intelligence, in a statement.
The Treasury Department accuses Alizai of giving money to the Taliban in exchange for protection of his alleged narcotics trade. He is also believed to have purchased weapons from the Taliban and met with key members of the ultra-conservative group in Pakistan.
Kakar is accused of operating a smuggling network in the Afghan provinces of Kandahar and Helmand in financial support of the Taliban.
"Today's action, building on the (Washington's) identification of Alizai as a drug kingpin in June, is aimed at further disrupting the financial networks of these individuals who are fueling the insurgency in Afghanistan," said Levey.
