NGOs fronting Pakistan's terror financing network to evade FATF scrutiny

New Delhi, Aug 18 (IANS) Pakistan might well be pushed back into the Grey List by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). While the country may have claimed a moral victory after signing an alleged minerals deal with the United States, reports currently state that terror funding by the establishment has only increased.

Unchecked terror, extortion, and money laundering to benefit terror organisations are the norm in Pakistan. However, post Operation Sindoor, during which several infrastructures were wiped out, the establishment has been heavily funding outfits such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad.

More evidence of this was given by Maulana Fazl-ur-Rehman, the chief of the Jamaat Ulema-e-Islam. Rehman said that a considerable amount of funds was being passed on to terror groups in the name of developmental funds. Around 10 per cent of Pakistan’s developmental funds are being given to terror groups, Rehman also alleged.

The Indian agencies have learnt that the funding for terror groups from the government’s coffers has increased after Operation Sindoor. The increase is related to these terror groups having to rebuild the infrastructure that was destroyed by the Indian armed forces.

The funds from the government’s coffers, however, do not reach these terror groups directly. There are scores of NGOs that these terror groups have formed, which have not yet come under the radar of the international agencies. Since these groups are not banned, the Pakistan establishment transfers the funds to such NGOs to make it look like a legitimate transaction.

Even if the FATF were to look into this funding, it would look legitimate, and this is Pakistan’s way of avoiding getting back into the Grey List.

Such funding gives terror groups a lifeline, which in turn makes them carry on with their operations. Pakistan’s spending is also to do with the fact that the army is facing losses in huge numbers due to the Tehreek-e-Taliban (TTP) and the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA). The two groups have hit the army in Pakistan significantly over the past couple of years.

In such an event, the Pakistan establishment would need friendly terror groups such as the Jaish-e-Mohammad and Lashkar-e-Taiba to fight the battle against the TTP and BLA.

Pakistan is inventing newer strategies so that its terror funding does not catch the eye of the FATF. The FATF, in a recent report, had said that when an organisation is not designated at the multilateral level, it is more likely to engage in financial activities, including fundraising.

In past couple of months, several dormant accounts of these NGOs, which are run by terror groups, have been reactivated. These accounts in Pakistan also receive foreign funding, which in turn is used to carry out terror attacks.

India is keeping a close watch on these activities and would use them to corner Pakistan at the FATF.

Rehman, while pointing out the issue of state-funded terrorism, said that the practice today has become institutionalised. It has been undermining governance and security.

He also highlighted that for these terror groups, which have the backing of the establishment, extortion and ransom for kidnapping has become a parallel economy in Pakistan. The Pakistan establishment has taken a great risk in trying to institutionalise terror. These developments come in the wake of a scheduled visit by the team of the FATF, which would monitor and evaluate the situation.

Pakistan has got out of the Grey List with a lot of difficulty, but it would be no surprise if it is back on that, considering the kind of brazen activity that is going on in the country today.

--IANS

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