U.S. Seeks to Put Pakistan on Global Terrorist-Financing Watchlist

The United States has put forward a motion to place Pakistan on a global terrorist-financing watchlist with an anti-money-laundering monitoring group, a senior Pakistani official said.

According to reports, US has accused Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups including al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

Islamabad, which denies assisting militants in Afghanistan and India, has reacted angrily to U.S. threats of further punitive measures.

A meeting of Financial Action Task Force member states is schedules next week next Paris, where the motion on Pakistan could be approved by the organization. The FATF is an intergovernmental body rooted in Paris, which sets global regulations for combating illicit finance.

US President Donald Trump, in his first tweet of 2018, had lashed out at Pakistan for providing safe havens to terrorists and accused it of “lies and deceit” and of fooling US leaders while sheltering terrorists.

Unveiling his new South Asia policy in August last year, Trump had warned of tougher measures against Pakistan if it failed to cooperate with the US in the fight against terror.

Afghan analysts are said to believe that if the U.S. put Pakistan on terrorist financing watchlist, the country will faces problems in attracting foreign investments and Getting loans from international sources.

“As much as Pakistan’s hands are closed, it would be useful for Afghanistan’s affairs. The increase of pressures on Pakistan is beneficial for Afghanistan’s security,” said Asadullah Nadim, military analyst.

Pakistani officials and Western diplomats fear that being enlisted on the FATF watch list could hamper the economy of Pakistan making it harder to attract foreign investors barring companies from business ventures in the nuclear-armed South Asian country.