Pakistan under FATF pressure: Doval

New Delhi : Pakistan is under a lot of pressure at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting, currently under way in Paris, to rein in terror groups operating from its soil, National Security Advisor (NSA) Ajit Doval said on Monday.

Doval, who was addressing a meeting of the chiefs of the Anti Terrorism Squads (ATS), said the biggest pressure on Pakistan comes from the functionaries of the FATF.

In the present context, no country can afford to go for a war as the financial and human costs are huge and no one is sure about the victory, he said.

"One of the biggest pressure that is coming on Pakistan today is because of the procedure of the FATF, I guess. The FATF has put so much of pressure on them that no other action could have been so," Doval said.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Pakistan was placed on the grey list by the Paris-based watchdog in June last year and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019, or face the risk of being placed on the blacklist with Iran and North Korea.

At the ongoing plenary of the FATF, chances are high that Pakistan will be retained on the 'grey list' as it has complied with just one of the 40 recommendations set by the global anti-money laundering watchdog at the time of its inclusion in the list.

If Pakistan continues with the 'grey list', it would be very difficult for the country to get financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank and the European Union, making its financial condition more precarious.

Doval said if the investigating agencies could collect correct, sustainable and quotable information, which could be put before the

international forums effectively that how Pakistan is supporting and financing terrorism, it would expose the country. "You can do your

best to collect these evidences. You all can contribute in your small way," he said at the event, organised by the National Investigation Agency (NIA).