Pakistan bans 69 terror outfits to save face ahead of FATF's decision on terror financing I File photo | Photo Credit: ANI

Islamabad: In a bid to save face ahead of FATF’s decision to blacklist Pakistan for terrorism financing, in a last-ditch effort, Islamabad banned 69 groups including 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Falah-i-Insaniyat. The move comes amid intense lobbying by India to get the country blacklisted.

Pakistan's National Counter Terrorism Authority (NCTA) took the decision on Thursday banned 69 banned outfits but turned a blind eye to Hizb-ul-Mujahideen, the Harkat-ul-Mujahideen and the Al Badr operating in Jammu and Kashmir.

Pakistan banned the 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed-led Jamat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and its charity wing Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation, amid intense global pressure to rein in the militant groups following the Pulwama terror attack that killed 40 CRPF soldiers.

A majority of the organisations banned by NCTA are based in Balochistan, Gilgit-Baltistan and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA). Amid India’s continued efforts to isolate Pakistan and increasing global pressure on Islamabad to act against terrorism, the FATF decided to keep Pakistan in the ‘grey list’ for now.

The decision to keep FATF in the greylist was taken after week-long discussions by the intergovernmental watchdog in Paris on February 21.

Amid India’s continued efforts to isolate Pakistan and increasing global pressure on Islamabad to act against terrorism, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to keep Pakistan in the ‘grey list’ for now.

New Delhi had lobbied hard to blacklist Islamabad over terror funding in the aftermath of the Pulwama attack. The decision to keep FATF in the greylist was taken after week-long discussions by the intergovernmental watchdog in Paris on February 21.

