‘Pakistan continues to provide safe haven to terrorists,’ says MEA as FATF plenary begins

The Ministry of External Affairs on Thursday hit out at Pakistan for continuing to “provide safe haven to terrorist entities & individuals,” ANI reported. The statement came a day after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) began its three-day virtual plenary meeting.

Pakistan has addressed only 21 out of the 27 action items given to them under their action plan, said MEA spokesperson Anurag Srivastava, ANI reported.

“Six important action items are yet to be addressed,” he added.

The Paris-based global watchdog, which counters money laundering and terror financing, put Pakistan on its ‘grey list’ in 2018 for not doing enough to curb the financial activities of terror groups.

“As is well known, Pakistan continues to provide safe haven to terrorist entities and individuals,” Srivastava said on Thursday.

He hit out at Pakistan for not taking action against several terrorist entities and individuals, “including those who have been proscribed by UNSC – such as Masood Azhar, Dawood Ibrahim & Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi.”

In its plenary meeting in February this year, the FATF had said Pakistan had implemented only 14 of 27 action items in the plan.

In a statement on ceasefire violations, Srivastava said this year, Pakistan has carried out 3,800 unprovoked ceasefire violations.

These violations are often carried out from civilian areas to support the infiltration of terrorists across the Line of Control (LoC).

“There have also been attempts to drop arms & ammunition across the LoC in the garb of civilian activities,” the spokesperson said.

“We have also witnessed that Pakistan’s aid & abetment to cross border terrorism, smuggling of arms & narcotic substances have spilled over to the International Boundary,” he added.