U.S. wants to put Islamabad back on terror finance list

Pakistan accused of not doing enough to cut off militants.

The United States has indicated that it will seek to place Pakistan on a watch list of countries that are not doing enough to counter terrorism financing, threatening Islamabad with global isolation, according to a senior Pakistani official.

The United States is likely to introduce the motion next week in Paris, where the Financial Action Task Force, a global body created to fight terrorism financing and money laundering, will vote on the matter, the official, Miftah Ismail, a financial adviser to Pakistan’s prime minister, said.

Pakistan was on the list from 2012 to 2015, and officials worry that being added again could hinder the country’s access to international markets as it prepares to repay roughly $3 billion in debt this summer.

In an effort to stave off returning to the list, Pakistan has quietly adopted sanctions against two groups that the United States accuses of being fronts for the militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba, moving to seize their schools, ambulances and other assets this week. The United States has been trying for years to get Islamabad to move against Lashkar-e-Taiba, which India accuses of being behind the 2008 terrorist attacks in Mumbai that shut down the city for several days and killed more than 160 people.

“We’re talking to the U.S. and trying to get them not to take any action against Pakistan,” Ismail said by telephone. “I think they’re listening to us and I’m more than hopeful we won’t be gray-listed.”

But his optimistic tone faded as he recalled a meeting with U.S. Treasury officials this month. The Pakistani delegation walked away with the impression that “they are still going to put us on the gray list,” he said, calling the Trump administration’s foreign policy inconsistent.

That would undermine moderates in the country, he said.

“We’ll have egg on our faces,” Ismail added. “We pushed for these reforms, although many thought we wouldn’t be successful changing Washington’s behavior.”

A State Department spokesman said that the United States welcomed Pakistan’s efforts against the groups tied to Lashkare-Taiba, but that it sought additional information on what “concrete steps” were being taken to deprive them of financing. The spokesman said the Paris meeting would determine the next steps on Pakistan.

President Donald Trump’s increasingly hawkish stance on Pakistan has left officials in the South Asian country worried that it could become politically isolated. Previous administrations have tried to force Islamabad to cut off support for extremist organizations that operate in Pakistan and cross the border into Afghanistan, where they attack U.S.-led forces.

Civilian officials in Pakistan’s government say privately that they are eager to clamp down on insurgent groups, but that the military and its powerful intelligence wing may not comply.