U.S. LABELS 'VAZIR' FROM BOSNIA AS TERRORIST ORGANISATION

WASHINGTON, Dec 24 (Hina) - The United States and Saudi Arabia have asked the United Nations to proclaim the non-governmental organisation called Vazir from Bosnia-Herzegovina as a terrorist organisation nd put its leader on the list of persons linked to al Qaeda.#L# The United States' Treasury Department has stated that the Bush Administration and Saudi Arabia asked the UN on Monday to add Vazir, the nonprofit organization headquartered in Travnik, Bosnia, to the list of terrorist organisation. According to Juan Zarate, the Treasury Department's deputy assistant secretary for terrorist financing and financial crimes, Vazir is picking up where the closed Bosnia branch of Al Haramain, a Saudi-based charity, left off. That branch of Al Haramain was put on the U.S. list of terrorist financiers in March last year, which is aimed at severing the group from the U.S. banking system. The U.S. and Saudi Arabia also insist that Vezi'r representative, Safet Durguti be put on the list of suspected terrorists linked to Al Qaeda. Durguti opened the organisation's offices in the central Bosnian town of Travnik in August 2003 after local cantonal authorities registered Vazir as an organisation for sports, culture and education. The U.S Treasury Department said some officials in Bosnia advised the Al Haramain representative to re-open the office of his organisation in Travnik under the other name. (Hina) ms