Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global terror financing watchdog has decided not to take Pakistan off from its Grey List and warned it of strenuous actions if the country fails to stop terror funding. The decision to continue Pakistan in Grey List was taken at FATF plenary in Paris.
The FATF further warned Pakistan that if it doesn’t complete a full action plan by June there could be serious business consequences. The plenary further noted that Pakistan hardly addressed any of the primary tasks given to it for stopping funding to terrorists from the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), the Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) and the Hizbul Mujahideen. All these terror groups are highly active in acts of terrorism in Jammu & Kashmir and other parts of India.
As Pakistan continues to feature in the Grey list of countries it is unlikely to get aid from financial institutions such as International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the European Union, etc. further aggravating the economy of a country which is already in precarious situation. Failure to comply with FATF directives could push the country to Black list alongside countries like North Korea and Iran.
Pakistan received backing from Malaysia but failed in its efforts to move to the white list due to hectic parleying by India which provided materials and evidences on Pakistan’s inaction to control terrorists operating in its soil.
