Despite Financial Action Task Force’s instructions to Pakistan to demonstrate some concrete action against terrorism, Islamabad cannot go beyond showing just cosmetic measures. The Imran Khan government will try and go through the motions of taking steps against terror organisations that actually enjoy safe haven in Pakistan.
This is the conclusion that a high-level meeting at the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) has recently drawn. Top foreign ministry officials in a meeting at South Block discussed the overall implications of FATF’s decision to keep Pakistan on “grey list” till next review in February 2021. The diplomats also had a thread-bare discussion about what the next move of Pakistan might be.
MEA officials believe that Pakistan will be more aggressively indulging in such activities that can divert the global community’s attention from its weaknesses on the issue of terrorism.
According to sources, MEA leadership has asked the diplomats to be cautious as now Pakistan would be trying to divert the attention of international community from its failures on the issue of terrorism. Similarly, the neighbouring country would also play victim card on terrorism, and would try to project its “cosmetic measures” as serious efforts by it to curb terrorism and financing of terror organisations. Pakistan’s state actors including ISI and its army, who are behind terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, may be planning new modus operandi to push their agenda.
“Facing massive protest from various political parties in Pakistan, Imran Khan will be resorting to such tactics out of desperation,” officials were told in the meeting.
Indian foreign ministry officials have been asked to remain cautious to this and expose every time Pakistan acts like this, sources said. “Keep the facts and evidence ready to counter Pakistan’s propaganda,” officials were told.
MEA spokesperson will be taking up the issues related to Pakistan’s propaganda on a regular basis so that a message exposing it could be sent out to the global community. Indian High Commission in Islamabad has also been instructed to update the MEA on every single “necessary” details of the Imran Khan government’s decisions related to the issue of terrorism.
Indian diplomats deployed in the UN, US, UK, Germany, France and other major countries would be coordinating with each other on this issue so as to counter Pakistan on any global forum, where it might try to claim high moral ground.
A highly-placed official told The Daily Guardian that PM Imran Khan held a meeting with his diplomats recently and asked them to curry favour with top countries of the world in a bid to improve its sagging image on the issue of terrorism. Imran is also expected to have a strategic meeting with Pak army and ISI top brass in next few days.
“Pakistan’s explanation won’t cut any ice with the global community, as it has nothing concrete to show that it has dismantled terror camps operating from its soil,” an official said.
“Imran and his ministers will undoubtedly rake up the Kashmir issue more frequently in a bid to create problems for India at the international forums and to divert attention of his own people and global community from core issues that invited Pakistan rebuke from FATF,” Indian diplomats say.
That Pakistan will indulge in these activities to divert international attention from its support to cross-border terrorism in Jammu and Kashmir cannot be ruled out. Indian foreign and defence ministers are likely to take this issue up with their US counterparts in the India-US 2+2 meet to be held on 27 October here. Though China’s aggressive behaviour will be taken up prominently during the 2+2 dialogue, India will try and seek US ministers’ attention to issues related to Pakistan.