Pakistan Friday expressed deep concern over Indian finance minister''s statement about New Delhi''s intention to have "Pakistan downgraded on the FATF list" and also questioned India''s credentials for co-chairing and being a member of the Asia Pacific Joint Group.
"The government of Pakistan expresses its deep concern over the statement made by the Indian finance minister yesterday [Thursday] about India''s intention to have "Pakistan downgraded on the FATF [Financial Action Task Force] list," Spokesperson Foreign Office Dr Mohammad Faisal said, adding that the statement re-confirms Pakistan''s longstanding concern that this technical forum is being politicised by India against Pakistan.
He pointed out that India has made several efforts in the past as well to politicise the proceedings at the FATF. Prior to the FATF plenary meeting in February 2019, he said that India circulated its own assessment of Pakistan''s progress and solicited immediate support for "blacklisting" Pakistan.
He stated that on several previous occasions, calculated leaks were made to the Indian media about the proceedings of the FATF, which are strictly confidential. "These instances of politicisation by India were brought to the attention of the president of FATF by the finance minister of Pakistan," he said, while referring to the letter sent to the FATF chief by former Finance Minister Asad Umar.
"India''s attempts to politicise the proceedings in the FATF against Pakistan call into question its credentials for co-chairing and being a member of the Asia Pacific Joint Group that reviews the progress made by Pakistan to implement the FATF Action Plan," Dr Faisal said.
He also stated that Pakistan remains committed to fully implementing the FATF Action Plan. "This commitment has been made at the highest political level," he said. However, the FATF must ensure that the process remains fair, unbiased and firmly grounded in the technical criteria of the forum, he added.
Talking to media persons in New Delhi on Thursday, Indian Finance Minister Arun Jaitley expressed the India''s design, saying that it will ask the FATF to put Pakistan on a blacklist of the countries that fail to meet international standards in stopping financial crime. "We want Pakistan downgraded on the FATF list," Jaitley was quoted by the Indian media as saying. He added that the FATF is due to meet in mid-May and India would make its request to blacklist Pakistan.
Jaitley''s comments come following the UN Security Council Sanctions Committee added Masood Azhar to its ISIL (Da''esh) and Al-Qaida sanctions list of individuals and entities subject to the assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo.