Iran faces global anti-terrorism financing watchdog blacklist: Report

A global dirty money watchdog on Friday placed Iran on its blacklist after the country failed to comply with international anti-terrorism financing norms. The decision comes after more than three years of warnings from the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) urging Tehran to enact terrorist financing conventions.

However, the FATF appeared to leave the door ajar for Iran saying “countries should also be able to apply countermeasures independently of any call by the FATF to do so.”

US sanctions have crippled Iran’s economy, slashing its oil exports and increasingly isolating it from the international financial system.

Iran’s leaders have been divided over complying with the FATF. Supporters say it could ease foreign trade with Europe and Asia when the country’s economy is targeted by US penalties aimed at its isolation.

Hardline opponents argue that passing legislation toward joining the FATF could hamper Iran’s support for its allies, including Lebanon’s Hezbollah. Iran’s action plan to meet with the FATF requirements, implemented in 2016, expired in January 2018.

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif this week appeared resigned to the FATF blacklisting, accusing the US using its maximum pressure campaign to exert influence at the FATF.

Pak remains on FATF 'Grey List'; no breather till it checks terror funding

Global terror financing watchdog FATF on Friday decided continuation of Pakistan in the "Grey List" and warned the country that stern action will be taken if it fails to check flow of money to terror groups like the LeT and the JeM, sources said.

The decision has been taken at the Financial Action Task Force's plenary in Paris.

The FATF decided to continue Pakistani in the "Grey List". The FATF also warned Pakistan that if it doesn't complete a full action plan by June, it could lead to consequences on its businesses, a source said.

UK panel explores 'rebrand' of Pakistan away from jihad and terrorism

A panel of academics and South Asia experts from around the world explored the prospect of a "rebrand" of Pakistan away from an ideology of jihad and terrorism, with the Pakistani diaspora playing some role in such a move.

'Reimagining Pakistan: A Global Perspective', organised by the Jammu Kashmir Study Centre UK think tank and the Indian National Students Association (INSA) UK in London on Saturday, highlighted that Pakistan's so-called "jihad strategy" dates back to 1947 when it tried to "forcibly annex Kashmir".

The panelists were in general agreement that the country risks becoming increasingly isolated in the wake of its recent grey-listing by the global money laundering watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) unless some urgent steps are taken and that China could act as a counter-weight, given its own economic interests in the region.

"Pakistan has a unique opportunity to reposition itself as a leader in the region. The Kartarpur Corridor is a good start...but it needs to rebrand the country away from the ideology of jihad," said Seth Oldmixon from the Liberty South Asia, an independent group promoting political pluralism in South Asian.

"It (Pakistan) has been consumed by this ideology and its long-term interests lie in reimagining the country or it risks becoming increasingly isolated and economically destitute," he said.

Dr Christine Fair, a Georgetown University professor of security studies with a focus on South Asia, informed the gathering that the Pakistani High Commission in London had tried to coerce the venue of the panel discussion into cancelling the event.

"That is reflective of the kind of state it is," she said, adding that a reimagining of Pakistan could happen from within its diaspora, but diaspora communities are not often fully in tune with the realities on the ground.

"Washington needs to cut off all aid because aid is toxic to that state. The longer it stays on the grey list, it gets to bargain with the international community using the threat of terrorism," she said.

Other panelists, including Pakistani journalist-in-exile and Founder of safenewsrooms.org Taha Siddiqui, highlighted the pressure on the media in the country but expressed hope that voices are on the rise against such a crackdown.

Khalid Shah, Associate Fellow at the Observer Research Foundation in Delhi, traced the history of "Pakistan's jihad in Kashmir", leading up to what he described as the current "cyber jihad" aimed at radicalising Kashmiri youth and glorifying the idea of jihad.

"Pakistan is like a shark in the region...It is an existential threat to its neighbours in the region and countries beyond. The UK should stop all aid to Pakistan," noted David Vance, a writer at AltNewsMedia.