Even as detractors continued to spread fake news , the Modi government pulled off a big diplomatic victory at the FATF (Financial Action Task Force) plenary in Paris. We had reported how Pakistan and anti-Modi figures had prematurely commented on the issue based on fake news. But, the outcome of the plenary came out only today.
Financial Action Task Force(FATF) has taken decision to put Pakistan on grey list for terror financing: Sources pic.twitter.com/KC50KRSXs4
— ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2018
A former White House and Pentagon official, Joushua White analysed the impact of these sanctions in a series of Tweets. In his first two tweets he said that the decision was part of wider American strategy to make Pakistan behave. He also hinted that these sanctions would make it difficult for Pakistan to raise money in international markets and exert pressure on its foreign reserves.
(2) The FATF decision would have an impact on Pak’s financial position, making it more difficult to raise capital on int’l markets, and making outsiders even more wary of FDI. And it would, as a result, put continued pressure on Pakistan’s foreign reserves.
— Joshua White (@joshuatwhite) February 23, 2018
He went on to hint that USA can use its influence in global institutions to hurt Pakistan in future as well. This reflects well on Indian diplomatic efforts in convincing the Trump administration regarding terrorists activities in Pakistan.
(4) The US move shouldn’t have come as a big surprise to Islamabad. When Pakistan was removed from the gray list in Feb 2015, FATF noted it had continuing issues to address, “in particular, fully implementing UNSC Resolution 1267” re designated terrorists. https://t.co/GyYMyMgwGU
— Joshua White (@joshuatwhite) February 23, 2018
The former US official also highlighted that USA was warning Pakistan ever since it was removed from grey list in 2015. But Pakistan had not been paying attention to these warning. He also highlighted the significance of USA and UK co-sponsoring the sanctions.
(6) It’s significant that the FATF proposal was co-sponsored by US and UK. The UK has a large and politically active Pakistani community, and is particularly invested in Pakistan’s political and economic stability.
— Joshua White (@joshuatwhite) February 23, 2018
Lastly he highlighted how China did not come to protect Pakistan. China had initially objected to the sanctions, but withdrew its objection reportedly under intense pressure from the US. This is a huge development as China has been protecting Pakistan on Masood Azhar sanctions at UNSC for past few years.
(8) And finally: These contentious FATF deliberations suggest that China, Russia, and other countries that have their own CT challenges may be wary of paying the reputational costs of looking as though they’re turning a blind eye to terrorist financing.
— Joshua White (@joshuatwhite) February 23, 2018
All in all it seems like Modi government has achieved a comprehensive diplomatic victory at FATF against Pakistan.
