Indian Army chief General Bipin Rawat has said there is pressure on Pakistan to take action against terror after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) warned the neighbouring country of blacklisting it. “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,” Chief Bipin Rawat said.
The Financial Action Task Force(FATF) is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related problems that are a threat to the integrity of the international financial system. Iran and North Korea are the only countries on the blacklist so far. Pakistan was placed on the “grey list” by the FATF in June last year and was asked to complete a plan of action by October 2019, or face the risk of being placed on the blacklist.
If Pakistan continues to remain on the ”grey list”, it would be very difficult for the country to get any financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank and the European Union, making its financial condition even worse.
The FATF noted that Pakistan was able to address only five out of 27 actionable items to rein in terror funding, according to Indian officials attending the meet in Paris. The terror funding watchdog said there was consensus on retaining Pakistan in the grey list based on its poor performance on the 27-point Action Plan, according to officials.