FATF decision comes on a day when US country reports on terrorism criticized Pakistan (FILE)
New Delhi:
The global terrorist finance monitoring government, the FATF, decided on Wednesday to keep Pakistan on the “gray list” because it failed to control the flow of money to terrorist groups like LeT and JeM. said officials.
The decision was made during the third and final plenary of the Financial Action Task Force, which was held almost due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The plenary was held under the Chinese presidency of Xiangmin Liu.
“The FATF plenary has decided to keep Pakistan on the” Gray List “until its next meeting in October,” an official with development official told PTI.
The decision was made because Pakistan has not checked the flow of money to terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), said the official.
The FATF decision comes on a day when US national reports on terrorism erected Pakistan as a haven for “regional terrorist groups” and allowed LeT and JeM to operate from its soil.
U.S. State Department report said Pakistan took modest steps in 2019 to tackle terrorist financing and prevent India-based terrorist groups from carrying out large-scale attacks after the February attack against a security convoy to Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir linked to Jaish based in Pakistan. e-Mohammed (JeM).
“Pakistan has taken action against certain targeted groups from outside, including the indictment of Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed, and his associates in three separate terrorist financing cases.
“However, Pakistan has remained a safe haven for other regional terrorist groups. It has enabled groups targeting Afghanistan, including the Afghan Taliban and HQN affiliates, as well as groups targeting the India, including LeT and its affiliated organizations head-on, and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM), to operate from its territory, “the report said.
A large Indian delegation with experts on money laundering and the financing of terrorism participated in the half-day FATF plenary.
Keeping Pakistan on the “ Gray List ” will make it difficult for the country to obtain financial assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, the AfDB and the European Union, which will further compound the problems. of the nation which is in a precarious financial situation.
If Pakistan does not comply with the FATF directive by October, it is entirely possible that the world body will place the country on the “ Black List ” with North Korea and Iran.
India maintains that Pakistan provides regular support to terrorist groups like LeT, JeM and Hizbul Mujahideen, whose main target is India, and urged the FATF to take action against Islamabad.
Pakistan was placed on the “ gray list ” by the FATF in June 2018 and has continued to be on the list since then, as it has failed to fulfill the tasks given by the FATF to stop the financing of terrorism.
The FATF is an intergovernmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, the financing of terrorism and other threats related to the integrity of the international financial system.
The FATF currently has 39 members, including two regional organizations – the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
India is a member of the FATF consultations and its Asia-Pacific group.
