Pakistan fails to get off FATF ‘grey list’

New Delhi/Paris, Oct 23 : In yet another major setback, Pakistan on Friday failed to get off the ‘grey list’ of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog for terror-funding and money laundering.
The Imran Khan-led government lost Pakistan’s bid at the FATF because of its failure to comply with the requirements of the Paris-based watchdog. Pakistan, already facing severe economic and financial crisis, has been in the grey list since 2018.
Being in the grey list makes it difficult for the already debt-ridden Islamic Republic to get financial aid from international agencies.
India has been persistently protesting against Pakistan’s continued cross-border terrorism in Kashmir and its inaction against the mastermind and planners of the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks.
The banned terror outfits, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammad and Hizbul Mujahideen, and their chiefs Hafiz Saeed, Masood Azhar and Syed Salahuddin, continue to get state patronage and protection in Pakistan.
A report of the United Nations Security Council released earlier this year said the three terror groups are collaborating with Al Qaeda and Taliban in Afghanistan.