ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan hopes to exit the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list of countries later today, its foreign office on Thursday condemned the Indian media for running a “malevolent campaign” ahead of the watchdog’s plenary session in Paris to project anti-Pakistan narrative internationally.
Pakistani officials recently said the country had successfully implemented 34 action points to counter money laundering and terrorism financing and was likely be removed from the list of countries with vulnerable financial systems to which it was added in June 2018.
The development has also been reported by Indian news outlets, some of whom have claimed that militant networks were still active in Pakistan.
“We categorically reject the orchestrated malevolent campaign against Pakistan by Indian media ahead of the FATF Plenary meeting,” the foreign office said in a statement. “This is not the first time the Indian media has been fed through official leaks to promote misleading, baseless and fabricated propaganda against Pakistan, just before the official FATF meetings.”
The foreign office maintained the FATF and the wider international community had repeatedly acknowledged the steps taken by Pakistan to improve its financial system.
“Despite India’s feverish attempts to politicize the process and cast doubts on Pakistan’s efforts and accomplishments, the FATF agreed in its June 2022 Plenary meeting that Pakistan had fully completed all substantive and procedural requirements of both its 2018 and 2021 Action Plans,” it added.
The foreign office said the Indian media and state organs “were feeding a mill of lies and propaganda,” adding they had no credibility.
“Their anti-Pakistan narrative is unfounded and pathological,” it added. “If anything, these shenanigans only serve to further expose Indian media’s hollow credentials and the malice of its patrons.”
