The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (FO) slammed the Indian minister’s statement on Monday, acknowledging that it played a role in keeping Pakistan on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of India, Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri (Zahid Hafeez Chaudhri) in India’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, S Jaishankar, acknowledged that Pakistan was “working hard on the Narendra Modi government.”

The spokesperson reminded that Islamabad has been emphasizing India’s role in the international community in the process of politicizing and undermining the FATF. It added that the recent statement by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of India “only further confirms its continued efforts to use an important technical forum for narrow political design efforts against Pakistan”.

“Although Pakistan has been sincerely and constructively engaged with FATF during the implementation of the action plan, India has spared no effort to express doubts about Pakistan’s progress through disgraceful means,” said the FO spokesperson.

The statement stated that Islamabad “has been exposing India’s dual-faceted role to the international community in the past” and vowed to bring “India’s recent guilty pleas” to the FATF’s attention.

“Pakistan is also considering approaching the FATF chairperson in order to take appropriate action on this matter. After the Indian government’s recent recognition, India’s assessment of Pakistan’s qualifications in the FATF as a joint group co-chair or any other country has been questioned. We urge the FATF to Investigate this,” Chaudy said.

The FO spokesperson reiterated that Pakistan’s progress in the AML/CFT field has been “proven by concrete, tangible and verifiable actions” and the FATF “publicly acknowledged” this.

“We are determined to maintain this momentum and trajectory with the support and cooperation of international partners. India’s illusion of exerting pressure on Pakistan has never been realized and will never be realized,” said Chaudhry. He also reaffirmed Pakistan’s commitment to the anti-money laundering/counter-financing of terrorism system.

“India’s statement confirms what Pakistan has been saying”
Federal Energy Minister Hamad Azar said on Twitter that Jashankar’s statement “only confirmed what Pakistan has been saying”.
“India is actively politicizing and undermining the technical process and spirit of FATF,” Azhar wrote on Twitter. He added that Pakistan’s “progress is still undeniable” and vowed that Islamabad “will soon” complete the two action plans.