Pakistan slams Indian foreign minister’s FATF statement

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) Monday slammed the recent statement by India’s External Affairs Minister (EAM) in which he had said that New Delhi had played an active role in keeping Islamabad on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) grey list.

““Indian statement not only exposes its true colors but also vindicates Pakistan’s longstanding stance on India’s negative role in FATF,” said the Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri.

He added that the Indian MEA had acknowledged that Pakistan was on the grey list due to the “efforts of the Narendra Modi government”.

Pakistan has consistently maintained that India has politicised FATF. The recent Indian statement makes clear their malintent. Manipulating an important technical forum for narrow political designs against Pakistan is disgraceful but not surprising for the Modi Government.

— Shah Mahmood Qureshi (@SMQureshiPTI) July 19, 2021

Chaudhri said New Delhi, itself, had acknowledged that it was using an international forum such as the FATF to further its “narrow political designs” against Pakistan.

“While Pakistan has been sincerely and constructively engaged with FATF during the implementation of the action plan, India has left no stone unturned in casting doubts on Pakistan’s progress through disgraceful means,” said the FO spokesperson.

The FO spokesperson said Islamabad was considering approaching the FATF president for appropriate action against New Delhi.

“Pakistan is also considering approaching FATF president for an appropriate action in this matter. Following the recent confession by Indian Government, India’s credentials for assessing Pakistan in FATF as co-chair of the Joint Group or for that matter any other country are subject to questions, which we urge FATF to look into,” he said.

“We are resolved to sustain this momentum and trajectory with the support and cooperation of our international partners. India’s delusions of putting pressure on Pakistan have always remained unfulfilled and would never see the light of day,” said Chaudhri.

Hammad Azhar lashes out at India

Federal Minister for Energy Hammad Azhar lashed out at India, saying that it “actively politicises & undermines the technical processes & spirit of FATF”.

He added that Pakistan’s “progress is nevertheless undeniable” and vowed that Islamabad “shall soon” complete both its action plans.

Jaishankar’s statement raises eyebrows

Indian MEA Jaishankar raised eyebrows when he said “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.”