Setback For Pakistan To Be In 'Grey List', Pressure On Them To Act: Army Chief Rawat After FATF Warning

Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat on Saturday termed the ‘grey listing’ of Pakistan by the FATF as a setback for neighbouring nation. He said that the pressure was on Islamabad to take action against the terrorists working from its soil. "There is pressure on them. They have to take action. We would like them to work towards restoring peace. To be on such a 'Grey List' is a setback for any nation," Army Chief was quoted as saying by news agency ANI. On Friday, Paris-based Financial Action Task Force put Islamabad on notice, warning that the country will be blacklisted if it does not control terror funding by February next.

#WATCH "There is pressure on them. They have to take action. We would like them to work towards restoring peace. To be on such a 'Grey List' is a setback for any nation," says Army Chief General Bipin Rawat on Financial Action Task Force warns Pakistan of blacklisting pic.twitter.com/43V7Y6aBr9

— ANI (@ANI) October 19, 2019

The FATF voiced serious concern over Pakistan’s failure to deliver on most of its 27 targets. The international terror financing watchdog warning means that it would be very difficult for Pakistan to get financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank, ADB and the European Union. There is also the risk of reduction in rating by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch, making Pakistan’s financial condition more precarious. Meanwhile, Pakistan’s Ministry of Finance in a statement reaffirmed its political commitment to fully implement the action plan.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday warned Pakistan of backlisting it if it does not control terror funding by February 2020. The warning was issued by the Paris-based global terror funding watchdog at its five-day plenary which concluded on Friday while deciding to again put the country on the ‘Grey List’. 

Pakistan was placed in the grey list of countries responsible for terror-financing in June 2018 and had presented Islamabad with a 27-point action plan to adopt strict anti-money laundering measures till September 2019. The fife-day meeting was attended by representatives from 205 countries and also from the International Monetary Fund, UN, World Bank and other organisations.

The FATF blacklist is a shorthand descriptor for the ‘Enhanced Expedited Follow Up (EEFU) list, since it is the last rung of a 4 step rating. Similarly, the FATF ‘Grey List’ refers to gradings of Non-Cooperative Countries or Territories (NCCT). Pakistan was placed on the Grey List by the FATF in June last year and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019, or face the risk of being placed on the blacklist with Iran and North Korea.