*NEW DELHI:* India today congratulated China for becoming the vice chair ofthe Financial Action Task Force(FATF), a global body mandated to combatterror financing, and hoped Beijing would “uphold and support” theobjective of the watchdog in a balanced and objective way, according to* Timesof India.link>*
In its plenary meeting in Paris on Friday India and US rallied in favour ofChina to make it the head of the Financial Action Task Force and in returnasked favour to drop its support in favour of Pakistan. China agreed tothe proposal and dropped support for Pakistan.
FATF extensively deliberated on ways to combat terror financing andmoney-laundering but did not put Pakistan on its internationalterror-financing watch list. It gave Islamabad time till June to prepare anaction plan against terror groups operating from Pakistan.
“Congratulations to China on its election as Vice President of FinancialAction Task Force at the #FATF plenary mtg. on 23 February 2018. We remainhopeful that China would uphold & support the objectives & standards ofFATF in a balanced, objective, impartial & holistic way,” MEA spokespersonRaveesh Kumar tweeted.
Congratulations to China on its election as Vice President of FinancialAction Task Force at the #FATF plenary mtg. on 23 February 2018. We remainhopeful that China would uphold & support the objectives & standards ofFATF in a balanced, objective, impartial & holistic way.
China, Pakistan’s all-weather ally, has repeatedly blocked efforts byIndia, the US and the UK in the UN to designate JeM chief Masood Azhar aterrorist.
The FATF, in a report on Friday, named nine countries with “strategicdeficiencies”. Among the countries identified were Iraq, Syria, Yemen andTunisia. Pakistan was on FATF’s “grey list” from 2012 to 2015.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 with the primarygoal of setting standards to combat money laundering, but in 2001 itsmandate was expanded to include countering terror financing. It can takeaction such as financial restrictions against any country.
At the FATF plenary meeting, the US and some of its European allies were infavour of placing Pakistan on the list of countries that financiallysupport terrorism.
However, Pakistan has been given time till June to prepare an action planto take action against terror groups operating from its soil followingwhich the FATF would take a call on whether to name it on itsterror-financing watch list.
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal has said the FATF will decide in June whetherto place Pakistan on the “grey list”. The list comprises countries withstrategic deficiencies that pose a risk to the international financialsystem.
The US holds that Pakistan is not taking action against terror groups suchas the Haqqani network and the Taliban. Islamabad has denied theallegations.