Washington: Annual US report on terrorism Acknowledged on Thursday that Pakistan took steps in 2020 to combat terrorism financing, curb India-focused terrorist groups and meet the demands of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The report said that Pakistan continued to experience terrorist attacks last year. The Pakistani military and security forces carried out counter-terrorism operations against groups carrying out attacks within Pakistan such as the banned Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), the terrorist Islamic State (IS) group and the Balochistan Liberation Army.
“Pakistan took steps in 2020 to combat the financing of terrorism and prevent India-focused terrorist groups from carrying out attacks. Pakistan convicted Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed and four other senior Lashkar leaders on multiple counts of terrorism financing,” the report said.
Although the report acknowledged Pakistan’s efforts to counter terrorism, it claimed that groups targeting Afghanistan and India – such as the Haqqani Network, Lashkar and Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) – continue to operate from Pakistani territory. keep.
Secretary of State Antony Blinken releases report in Washington
The report said, “Pakistan did not act against other known terrorists such as Jaish-e-Mohammed founder and UN-designated terrorist Masood Azhar and 2008 Mumbai attack ‘project manager’ Sajid Mir, who are believed to be It is known that both are free in Pakistan.”
But it also acknowledged that “Pakistan has made positive contributions to the Afghanistan peace process, such as encouraging the Taliban to reduce violence”.
Noting Pakistan’s efforts to meet the demands put forth by the FATF, the report stated: “Pakistan made additional progress in 2020 towards completing its FATF Action Plan, but all action plan items were met.” did not and remained on the ‘Grey List’ of the FATF.”
In a separate chapter titled “Support for Pakistan”, the report stated that the US government recognized Pakistan’s role in Afghanistan and wider regional security, and called on “Pakistan to eliminate terrorist groups within its territory”. solicits”.
It reported that the United States “cooperates with Pakistan on counter-terrorist operations, which have helped Pakistan reclaim parts of the country previously held by terrorist groups”.
Nevertheless, the TTP and other designated terrorist groups “continue to carry out attacks against Pakistani military and civilian targets”, the report said, “while Pakistan has taken some action against these designated terrorist organizations, some externally focused Terrorist groups continue to find safe havens in Pakistan”.
Therefore “the US government continues to suspend most of its security assistance to Pakistan. This suspension is in effect throughout 2020”, the report said.
Despite the ban, the US government maintained a civilian aid portfolio on a focused set of priorities, the report said. “Civil aid continued to prioritize civil society; people-to-people exchanges; stabilization and development along the Afghanistan-Pakistan border; trade and economic development,
including partnerships with US businesses; Law enforcement, counter-terrorism. ,
anti-terrorist financing and related anti-money laundering, non-proliferation cooperation in counter-terrorism efforts; and polio and other infectious diseases, including COVID-19.
The report noted that the emphasis of US civil aid to Pakistan is on sustainable development and capacity building, and on leveraging trade and private sector investment, where possible.
It also encouraged partnership and long-term positive impact for the Pakistani people.
People-to-people exchanges, which largely shifted to virtual exchanges during COVID-19, help promote mutual understanding and bilateral ties.
“The United States supports civil law enforcement and the rule of law to help Pakistan disrupt international organized crime and terrorist networks and provide security and justice to Pakistani citizens,” the report said.
US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who released the report in Washington, warned that globally “the number of terrorist attacks and the total number of deaths from those attacks has increased by more than 10 percent”.
He attributed this growth to the spread of “branches and networks of IS and allies of al Qaeda, particularly in Africa”.
Published in Dawn, December 17, 2021
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