Pakistan placed on terror financing watch list

Pakistan President, Mamnoon Hussain

Pakistan President, Mamnoon Hussain

Pakistan President, Mamnoon Hussain

Pakistan has been placed on a terror financing watchlist by a global money-laundering watchdog, a move likely to mean even more hurdles for a struggling Pakistani economy.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body, took the decision as part of a week-long meeting under way in Paris, Pakistani officials said on Thursday.

The FATF has already warned Pakistan in February that it needed to find ways to squeeze sources of funding for terror groups allegedly operating from its soil.

A subsequent review by the Asia-Pacific Group of the FATF found little progress, in spite of claims by Pakistani officials to have arrested thousands of suspects and seized millions of dollars.

The U.S. and its European allies, including Germany, then sought action against Pakistan by the 37-nation bloc.

Only Turkey and China opposed the proposal, but two members were not enough to block the decision.

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Pakistani Interior Minister Azam Khan reacted angrily, accusing the U.S. and European nations of strong-arming the body into the decision.

Security Analyst Fida Khan said the move would increase pressure on Pakistan as the U.S. seeks the country’s help for the latest peace push in Afghanistan.

A U.S. diplomat for the region is expected in Islamabad soon.

She might ask military leaders for aid in return for America’s killing of Pakistani Taliban chief Mullah Fazlullah in a drone strike in Afghanistan this month.

“Pakistan will be under obligation and pressure,” Fida Khan added.

Economic experts believe the move will hurt the country’s economy, which is reeling from years of violence by Islamist militants and a chronic energy crisis.

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