World body’s eye on Pak terror funds

Pakistan’s action in freezing the accounts of 5,000 suspected terrorists close on the heels of a meeting of an international watchdog that tracks terror financing should be seen through as a desperate attempt to hoodwink the body by what is arguably a rogue state. The cold reality is that some banned terror groups in that country wield so much influence with people that the government is wary of cutting money to them. It needs no expert to predict that most of the terror groups that are of dubious credentials are involved in acts of terror against India and there is an uncanny cosy relationship between them and the Pakistan government. With the army in that country wielding power without responsibility, organizations and individuals in Pakistan get away with actions that should attract international scrutiny. The 35-nation intergovernmental organization the Financial Action Task Force was formed in 1989 to combat money laundering. After 9/11, it also took on the role of fighting the financing of terrorism. Getting on the task force’s “black list” could hurt a country’s ability to borrow, if its banking system is considered a money laundering haven. Significantly, in 2015, Pakistan was exempted from its scrutiny after a similar session applauded the country’s progress in tackling both money laundering and terrorist financing. However, the reactivation of banned groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba under new names and the relative ease with which groups such as Jaish-e-Mohammed appear to operate, openly running Islamic seminaries and fundraising, should set the world body thinking. Evidently, Islamabad is putting up an act to seem earnest in devising antiterror financing policies, freezing bank accounts of known terrorist groups and identifying those that have resurfaced with different names, but the inherent dubiousness and transient nature of these actions should be seen through.

There is evidence that Pakistan’s neighbours India and Afghanistan can adduce to prove that Islamabad has been funding terror activities in both countries. Iran too has warned Pakistan recently against terror groups operating from Pakistan. The recent raids on terror conduits in India have produced evidence of terror financing. The Financial Action Task Force must take into account these factors when it deliberates on Pakistan’s case.