Pakistan’s latest accusation that India is politicising the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) process is nothing but a red herring. It is just a ploy to deflect attention from Islamabad’s repeated failures to implement the financial watchdog’s stipulations on curbing terrorism financing. Pakistan has been on the FATF greylist since June last year and recently managed to just about stay out of its blacklist with support from China, Malaysia, and Turkey. In fact, Islamabad itself has been engaging with the top political leadership of friendly countries to stay out of the blacklist. If anything, this constitutes politicisation on Islamabad’s part.

Now, Pakistan has till September to comply with all the stipulations regarding terror funding. However, going by that country’s track record, it will once again try to dodge the blacklist with the help of friendly nations. Pakistan is a master at negotiating with a gun to its head. And it continues to see terror groups operating from its soil as strategic assets. Unless this changes, Pakistan-based terrorists will continue to pose a threat to the whole world.

Thus, India’s insistence that Pakistan take credible, verifiable and irreversible measures against terror financing and terrorism in general needs to be supported by the international community. Countries must not compromise for extraneous political gains. For, doing so makes the whole world less safe. Pakistan must be put in the doghouse if it fails to comply and cut off oxygen to terrorists.

Also read: Pakistan looking to mislead FATF with criticism of India?

Linkedin
END OF ARTICLE