Washington: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s recent statement promising an end of support to terror groups does not reflect a change of policy and is motivated by the fear of getting blacklisted by the global terror-financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the country’s former envoy to the US Husain Haqqani has said.
Amidst intense global pressure to rein in terror outfits, Khan last month said his government will not allow Pakistan’s land to be used for any kind of terror activities and promised actions against militant groups operating from the country’s soil.
Haqqani, Pakistan’s former Ambassador to the US, told a Washington audience Friday that so far, there is no evidence that the Khan government or the military is dismantling Pakistan’s terror infrastructure.
“There is little change in Pakistan’s attitude towards militancy, particularly the one directed against Afghanistan and India,” he said in his address to the third ‘India Ideas Conference’ organised by India Initiative of the Georgetown University.
Haqqani pointed out that Pakistan has failed to initiate any action against the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) terror group or its leader Masood Azhar after the Pulwama terrorist attack in Jammu and Kashmir.
“Islamabad’s close ties with Beijing were invoked to ensure that Azhar’s designation as a terrorist by the UN was blocked by China at Pakistan’s behest,” he said, adding that such moves are consistent with Islamabad’s policies of the last 30 years.
Haqqani, who has authored several books, is currently the Director for South and Central Asia at the Hudson Institute think-tank. He is considered as an outspoken critic of the Pakistan Army’s domestic and foreign policies, especially its support of terrorism.
- February 22, Paris-headquartered FATF condemned the Pulwama terror attack and decided to continue the ‘Grey’ listing of Pakistan for its failure to stop funding of terrorist groups
- The FATF continuing Pakistan with the ‘Gray’ listing means downgrading of the country by multilateral lenders like the IMF, World Bank, Asian Development Bank, EU and also a reduction in risk rating by Moody’s, S&P and Fitch
“Although the FATF sanctions are not imminent, Pakistan is trying to thwart them with public relations moves such as Imran Khan’s latest statement. There will be more PR moves as FATF pressures increase,” he said.
“Pakistan’s economy is not doing too well. FATF sanctions would only make Khan’s only economic option – more borrowing and financial bailouts by other countries and IMF—more difficult,” he said.