In what could be a shot in the arm for India days after the bilateral Joint Working Group meeting here on counter-terror, the US on Tuesday designated Pakistan-based Milli Muslim League and Tehreek-e-Azadi-e Kashmir, aliases of proscribed Lashkar e-Taiba (LeT), as foreign terrorist organisations.The designations seek to deny LeT the resources it need to plan and carry out further terror attacks. Among the other consequences, LeT’s property and interests in property subject to US jurisdiction will now be blocked.ET has learnt that the US had indicated to India at the Joint Working Group meet last week that it will designate Pakistan-based terror groups.Concurrently, the US Department of Treasury has designated seven members of the MML leadership for acting on behalf of LeT: Saifullah Khalid, Muzammil Iqbal Hashimi, Muhammad Harris Dar, Tabish Qayyuum, Fayyaz Ahmad, Faisal Nadeem, and Muhammad Ehsan.Reacting to the US move, an MEA spokesperson said: “India welcomes the action taken by the US. It vindicates India’s position that Pakistan has not taken effective action against terrorist groups and individuals.”“It is also cognizance of the fact that terrorist individuals and entities are allowed to change names and continue to operate freely from territory under Pakistan’s control.The designation is a rejection of the attempts being made in Pakistan to mainstream terrorist individuals and entities; and highlights Pakistan’s failure to fulfil its international obligation to dismantle terrorist sanctuaries, and disrupt terror financing,” the spokesperson pointed out.In less than a year, this is the third such move by the US to designate a Pakistan-based anti-India terror group as FTO. Last year, Hizbul Mujahideen was designated as FTO and its chief Syed Salahuddin was designated as a global terrorist.Ambassador Nathan A Sales, Coordinator for Counterterrorism at the Department of State, said “today’s amendments take aim at Lashkar-e-Taiba’s efforts to circumvent sanctions and deceive the public about its true character.Make no mistake: whatever LeT chooses to call itself, it remains a violent terrorist group. The US supports all efforts to ensure that LeT does not have a political voice until it gives up violence as a tool of influence.”Formed in the 1980s, LeT was responsible for the November 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that killed 166 people, including six Americans, and has killed dozens of Indian security forces and civilians in recent years.