FATF Launches Global Anti-Terror Counter-Measures

India's National Risk Assessment Now Gets Official Validation Under the FATF System

- SIMONTINI BHATTACHARJEE

NEW DELHI: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has passed a rare and strong censure in the wake of the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack in South Kashmir as a "grave assault on humanity."

The chilling carnage, which claimed 26 tourists' lives, has provoked global condemnation, and FATF's direct censure is only the third one in the last decade where the global anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing watchdog has explicitly condemned a particular terrorist attack.

In a strongly worded statement issued Monday, FATF highlighted the severest weaknesses in international terror financing networks revealed by the Pahalgam attack.

Notably, FATF's forthcoming milestone report is likely to officially recognize state-sponsored terror as a key issue in the worldwide struggle against terror funding.

This marks an endorsement of India's long-standing allegations against Pakistan for sponsoring cross-border terror with the help of proxy organizations like Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammed. India's National Risk Assessment (NRA), which continuously identifies Pakistan-sponsored networks, now gets official validation under the FATF system.

In an additional development, the watchdog declared the sending of a Terror Financing Risk and Context Toolkit. Aimed at assisting assessors identify jurisdictional loopholes, the toolkit has been viewed as a step to forestall states from hiding on-ground terror threats.

Analysts understand the action as a subtle reaction to nations such as Pakistan, which have stood accused for years of offering funding and logistical assistance to terror groups while eluding global accountability.