FATF

India and Afghanistan. Over the last month, however, Pakistan has gone on an overdrive to impress FATF.

Last week, a Pakistani court sentenced Lashkar-e-tayyiba commander Zaki-ur-rehman Lakhvi to 15 years in jail in a terror-financing case. Another judge issued arrest warrants for Jaish-e-masood chief Masood Azhar, who Pakistan has claimed for years was not in Pakistan.

New Delhi has, however, pointed out that neither of the two designated terrorists has been charged for terrorist acts. Pakistan’s “farcical actions” appeared to be aimed at an upcoming review by the FATF of the country’s efforts to counter terror financing, India’s external affairs ministry Anurag Srivastava said in response, pressing for “credible action” against Pakistan against terror groups.

The US State Department decision to continue treating the Lashkar-e-tayyiba as a terror organisation, an Indian official said, suggests that it is as potent as ever despite cosmetic steps taken by Islamabad.

The order comes weeks after Pakistan convinced the UN Security Council 1267 sanctions committee to let Lashkar’s Zaki-ur Rehman Lakhvi withdraw Pakistani ₹1.5 lakh from his bank accounts. Last year, Pakistan had secured a similar concession for Lashkar chief Hafiz Saeed, also a UNSC designated terrorist.

The new State Department order has also expanded the Foreign Terrorist Organisation order to cover new aliases for the Pakistan-based Lashkar-ijhangvi. The terrorist designations of Lashkar-i-jhangvi (LJ) and ISIL Sinai Peninsula (ISIL-SP) have been amended to include additional aliases, the department spokesperson said in a statement.

FTO and Specially Designated Global Terrorists designations seek to deny these terrorist organisations the resources to plan and carry out terrorist attacks. Among other consequences of designations, all of the groups’ property and interests that are within the US are blocked, and US nationals are generally prohibited from engaging in any transactions with them. In addition, as designated FTOS, it is a federal crime to knowingly provide, or attempt or conspire to provide, material support or resources to them, the statement said.