India will ask the global money laundering and terror finance watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), to put Pakistan on the blacklist of countries fail to meet international standards in stopping financial crime, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said on Thursday.
Pakistan is already placed under the grey list of FATF, a global money laundering and terror finance watchdog because the country has failed to curb money laundering and terror financing.
Jaitley told reporters, “We want Pakistan downgraded on the FATF list”. India would make the request when the FATF meets in mid-May. This development comes after India has major diplomatic victory, as Masood Azhar was declared as a global terrorist by UNSC. Masood Azhar is the leader of the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) which had claimed responsibility for the Pulwama attacks. Before this, China had repeatedly blocked efforts to sanction Azhar.
“A step in the right direction to demonstrate the international community’s resolve to fight against terrorism and its enablers,” said the foreign ministry welcoming the sanction of Azhar.
In February, the FATF had decided to keep Pakistan in the greylist for now and has given time until October to avoid getting blacklisted. FATF had said that Pakistan “does not demonstrate a proper understanding” of terrorism financing risks posed by militant groups, including the JeM.
If Pakistan is placed in FATF blacklist, it will be a big blow to Pakistan’s economy, as it will be harder for foreign investors and companies to do business in the country. FATF calls for enhanced due diligence and countermeasures in dealing with blacklisted countries, which increases the cost of doing business with such a country.
