Pakistan on Friday dismissed Indian media reports that a global money-laundering watchdog has placed it back on its terrorist financing watchlist.
The rumors came days after reports that Pakistan had been given a three-month reprieve before being placed on the list, which could hamper banking and hurt foreign investment.
US has spent the past week lobbying member countries of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place Pakistan on the so-called "grey list" of nations that are not doing enough to combat terrorism financing.
Quoting a FATF spokesman South Punjab News reported that a final decision about Pakistan would be announced after conclusion of the watchdog meeting.
A global money-laundering watchdog has placed Pakistan back on its terrorist financing watchlist, Indian media and a diplomatic source said on Friday, in a likely blow to both Pakistan’s economy and its strained relations with the United States.
The move is part of a broader US strategy to pressure Pakistan to cut alleged links to militants waging chaos in neighbouring Afghanistan.
It comes days after reports that Pakistan had been given a three-month reprieve before being placed on the list, which could hamper banking and hurt foreign investment.
A non-Indian diplomatic source from one of the FATF countries confirmed that the group had decided Pakistan would be put back on the watchlist.
However, US and Indian officials had called the claim ‘premature’ and said a final decision was still to come, The Hindu reported.
Interior Minister Ahsan Iqbal also took to Twitter on Friday, urging against speculation on the sensitive matter until there was official confirmation of the FATF decision.“It was a general comment,” he added.Earlier in the week China, Turkey, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were opposing the US-led move against Pakistan but by Thursday night both China and the GCC dropped their opposition, the diplomatic source said.“The decision was taken yesterday,” the diplomat said.
to thank Turkey for its unwavering support “against all odds”.
