India to highlight Pak failure to curb terror funding at Paris meet

New Delhi, Feb 16: India will highlight the failure of Pakistan in curbing flow of funds to terrorists at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary scheduled next week in Paris, notwithstanding Islamabad’s efforts to act against terror infrastructure just ahead of the proposed Paris meet.

According to DefenceNews Pakistan is likely to come under intense pressure from India at the plenary, as Delhi is sure to raise the issue of Pak-based terror groups Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) and LeT carrying out recent attack on a military camp at Sunjuwan in Jammu.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is an intergovernmental organization coordinating efforts to combat terror financing and money laundering. The Paris meeting scheduled from February 18 to 23, the FATF is most likely to assess Pakistan’s efforts to curb flow of funds to terrorist outfits. Pakistan has assured steps to curb the flow of funds to such organizations by making its law enforcing agencies and legal regime more effective, sources said.

Pakistan President Mamnoon Hussain recently approved an ordinance to amend a section of the country’s Anti-Terrorism Act, enabling authorities to act against terrorists and terror organisations proscribed by the UN Security Council, including sealing their offices and freezing bank accounts. The ordinance is apparently a move to comply with the FATF requirement ahead of the plenary of the intergovernmental organisation.

India has taken note also of the US proposal for allocating $256 mn in civilian assistance and $80 mn in military aid to Pakistan in the budget for the new financial year. This comes just a few weeks after the US suspended all security assistance to Pakistan, accusing the South Asian country of not doing enough to fight terrorism in the region.