ISLAMABAD: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has ignored India’s attempts to have Islamabad placed on the anti-money laundering watchdog’s “grey list,” Pakistani state media reported this week as tensions simmer between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
Various media outlets had reported that India was likely to push the FATF, a global financial crime watchdog, to add Pakistan back to its grey list during the watchdog’s plenary meeting in June. These reports came following India and Pakistan’s days-long military confrontation in May before both agreed to a ceasefire brokered by Washington.
The FATF’s grey list places a country under increased monitoring until it has rectified identified flaws in its financial system. Pakistan was taken off the FATF grey list in 2022, boosting its reputation among lenders which was essential for the country’s fragile economy.
“The Financial Action Task Force has decided not to place Pakistan in the grey list at its meeting held on Saturday,” state broadcaster Radio Pakistan reported on Saturday.
“After the FATF decision, India has completely failed to achieve its objectives as the Indian diplomatic delegation made a strong effort to get Pakistan included in the grey list once again in the FATF meeting.”
Neither the FATF nor the Indian government have so far commented on the development. The FATF’s plenary year begins in July and ends in June. The watchdog holds its plenary meetings usually in October, February and June of each year.
Radio Pakistan reported that China took “a clear stance” in Islamabad’s favor at the FATF meeting while Turkiye and Japan also “fully supported” Pakistan in not having it placed on the grey list.
“India was trying hard to use FATF against Pakistan with the help of Israel,” the state broadcaster said, describing it as a victory for Pakistan’s diplomatic mission.
Tensions spiked between the two countries after India blamed Pakistan for an April 22 attack in Indian-administered Kashmir that killed 26 tourists. Pakistan denied involvement and called for an independent probe.
The two countries pounded each other with artillery fire, fighter jets, drones and missiles before the ceasefire on May 10.
While the ceasefire between the two countries continues to persist, tensions between the neighbors remain high as India says it is holding in abeyance a decades-old water-sharing treaty with Pakistan.
Islamabad had said after India suspended the Indus Waters Treaty that it considered any attempt to stop or divert the flow of water belonging to Pakistan to be an “act of war.”
