Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar admitted on Sunday that Pakistan was included on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) due to “the efforts of the Narendra Modi government”.
According to a report published by The Print, Indian Foreign Minister S Jaishankar praised Modi’s government for its “efforts” to ensure that the FATF keeps Pakistan on the grey list.
According to the media, the minister issued the statement when using a video link to resolve the BJP leader’s training plan on the government’s foreign policy.
“FATF as all of you know keep a check on fundings for terrorism and deals with black money supporting terrorism. Due to us, Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept [on] the grey list. We have been successful in pressurising Pakistan and the fact that Pakistan’s behaviour has changed is because of pressure put by India by various measures. Also terrorists from LeT and Jaish, India’s efforts through UN, have come under sanctions,” Jaishankar reportedly told the leaders, according to The Print.
It should be remembered that on June 25, the FATF stated that it recognized Pakistan’s progress and efforts in resolving projects related to the financing of terrorism in its national action plan, and encouraged it to continue to make progress and resolve the “leftovers” as soon as possible. A project related to CFT”.
It also submitted six new anti-money laundering work to the government.
FATF Chairman Dr. Marcus Pleyer stated at a press conference after the Paris plenary meeting from June 21 to 25 that Pakistan is still under “enhanced surveillance”.
“The Pakistani government has made substantial progress in making its counter-terrorist financing systems stronger and more effective. It has largely addressed 26 out of 27 items on the action plan it first committed to in June 2018,” he said.
Dr Pleyer had said that the plan focused on terrorist financing issues.
He had said that the one key action item still needs to be completed “which concerns the investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups”.
The FATF president highlighted that Pakistan has “made improvements” after the Asia Pacific Group highlighted issues in 2019 during its assessment of Pakistan’s entire anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system.
“These include clear efforts to raise awareness in the private sector to Pakistan’s money laundering risks and to develop and use financial intelligence to build a case.
“However Pakistan is still failing to effectively implement the global FATF standards across a number of areas. This means the risks of money laundering remain high which in turn can fuel corruption and organised crime.”
Dr. Player has stated that this is why the FATF and the Pakistani government are cooperating in new areas that still need improvement as part of a new action plan that focuses on money laundering risks.
He said this includes increasing the number of investigations and prosecutions, and ensuring that law enforcement agencies cooperate internationally to track, freeze and confiscate assets.
“This is about helping authorities stop corruption and prevent organised criminals from profiting from their crimes and undermining the financial system and legitimate economy in Pakistan,” Dr Pleyer had added.
