ISLAMABAD:- The United States has added the Pakistani militant group Jamaat-ur-Ahrar to its list of global terrorists, triggering sanctions against a faction that has staged multiple attacks on civilians, religious minorities and soldiers. Jamaat-ur-Ahrar has claimed responsibility for at least five major attacks in Pakistan since December, including the Easter Sunday bombing in a public park that killed 70 people in the city of Lahore.  The group is a splinter faction of the Pakistani Taliban movement that has also declared loyalty to Islamic State's leadership in the Middle East.–Reuters

It also claimed responsibility for the killing of two Pakistani employees of the US Consulate in the northwestern city of Peshawar in March.

Jamaat-ur-Ahrar has not commented on the designation that was announced by the US State Department on Wednesday. It means anyone who supports Jamaat-ur-Ahrar could have their assets frozen by the US government.

Pakistan welcomed the decision.