Author: Maria Abi-Habib / Source: New York Times
Adem Altan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images
NEW DELHI — Pakistan is not doing enough to curb terrorism financing and money laundering, a global financial watchdog said Friday in a stern warning that reflects renewed scrutiny of the country’s links to militant groups.
The Financial Action Task Force, a watchdog based in Paris, hinted that Pakistan could face consequences — like being placed on the group’s blacklist — if it had not taken specific steps by May.
Even remaining on the watchdog’s gray list would have consequences, complicating Pakistan’s ability to raise money on international markets at a time when its economy is sputtering and it is in dire need of loans. A blacklisting could lead to sanctions by Western countries, including the United States.
The warning comes a week after India threatened to retaliate against Pakistan for a bombing that killed at least 40 Indian soldiers in Kashmir. The militant group that claimed responsibility, Jaish-e-Muhammad, or Army of Muhammad, operates in Pakistan, where it raises money under aliases, according to American and Indian officials.
Khurram Hussain, a columnist with Dawn, Pakistan’s leading English-language newspaper, said the statement by the Financial Action Task Force was its “most strident one” in 10 years.
“It seems like somebody somewhere has run out of patience with Pakistan, and FATF is channeling it,” he said. “Previous governments have tried to take the same actions to list these groups as terrorist entities and limit their activity but have failed to do so.
”The watchdog’s statement named Jaish-e-Muhammad specifically — a rare callout for the group — as well as the Islamic State, Al Qaeda, the Taliban and Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India and the United States accuse of orchestrating the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed over 160 people.
The statement provided a list of actions that it…
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