The classified cable, released by WikiLeaks, cited the large Afghan and
Pakistani communities in the UAE. The State Department was told that Abu
Dhabi was not pressing the emirates to enforce regulations against
money-laundering and insurgency financing.
"Systemically approaching this issue both in the UAE and in the broader
Gulf region to disrupt Taliban finances, while protecting commerce and
economic activity, is an important, though challenging task," the cable
said.
The United States has established a task force with the UAE to battle
the flow of money to Al Qaida and Taliban. The cable said Taliban was
recruiting South Asian nationals for so-called radical activities. The UAE
was said to contain one million Pakistanis and 150,000 Afghans, most of them
unskilled laborers.
"There are anecdotal reports that one Pashtun Afghan community in the
UAE may have tribal or religious ties to the Taliban," the cable said. "UAE
authorities are known to observe this group's activities and occasionally
disrupt gatherings. Most Afghan residents are believed to be Pashtun."
The UAE has also refrained from directly regulating charity sent abroad,
including by leading princes. But the cable said Abu Dhabi closely monitors
the flow of Islamic charity as well as fundraisers.
One UAE charity was suspected of ties with the Palestinian movement
Hamas. The UAE charity was identified as Human Appeal, based in Ajman.
"The major UAE charities receive significant cash and in-kind donations
from senior ruling family members, wealthy Emirati nationals and small
donations from other citizens and expatriates," the embassy said. "Post does
not have comprehensive statistics that reveal which charities are most
popular, although the three largest are the only ones authorized to disburse
funds overseas."
ShareThis
