The United Kingdom on Thursday slammed Pakistan and said that the Imran Khan-led government must do more to act against terrorism if it wants to prevent the FATF blacklisting.
The UK asked for “non-reversible” action against terrorism from Pakistan.
“All the evidence against Pakistan has been put on the table. Pakistan has taken some action…there has been some progress. Pakistan has to do a lot more and take non-reversible action,” Gareth Bayley, UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office Director for South Asia, said during an interactive session at Raisina Dialogue 2020.
Bayley added that it is clear that terror groups are operating from Pakistan’s territory and pose “a serious challenge to the Pakistan government and the South Asian region as well”.
Also read: FATF calls for stricter actions from Pakistan on crackdown of terror groups
Pakistan, at present, is on FATF’s greylist since 2018. The watchdog has granted an extension to Islamabad till February 2020. Pakistan faces the possibility of getting blacklisted by the FATF if it fails to comply with the remaining 22 out of 27 points related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.
Bayley also reacted over the ongoing tensions between the United States and Iran after US strikes at Iraq’s Baghdad International Airport killed Iran’s top military commander Qasem Soleimani on January 3. He called for a de-escalation of tension between the two nations.
Bayley added that the UK has a “really deep” counter-terrorism dialogue with India and can share the experience with India “just as India has a lot of experience to share”.
(With inputs from ANI)
Source: Thanks WIONews.com