Reema Shaukat
Pakistan being pivot of South Asia always remains target of its adversaries. When on one side a country has mad neighbour like India which is not always propagating about it on any of platforms but is adamant to make it failed state at any cost. Prime Minister Modi who shall be completing five years in his office since May, 2014 came up as an authority with pan-Indian vision. Modi earlier as Chief Minister of Gujrat and Modi now as Prime Minister of India, there seems no iota of difference between the two positions conferred to him. While going through Modi’s report card of five years, one can see that his policies in practice, are continuously making his profile down. During his tenure in past years, instances at different times have shown how India is taking Modi and how the world is reacting to his approaches. Modi belongs to a party BJP which functions under the mantra of Snag Parivar including its factions like RSS, VHP and Bajrang Dal. Modi Sarkar remains silent even when BJP’s ministers openly threaten minorities of teaching an unforgettable lesson. Modi government is anti-Pakistani from day one. India which happens to be Pakistan’s nuclear armed neighbour in South Asian region is always in hostile mode when it comes to its relations with Pakistan. Whenever efforts for peace are initiated by Pakistan for stability in the region, India has always refused to those olive branch extensions. Either it is Kashmir issue, water dispute or dialogue for any of trade routes, peace initiatives, exchange of delegates or return of prisoners, India has always accused Pakistan of cross border terrorism.
Though in past few years we have always witnessed Modi blaming Pakistan. Be it is Uri attack, surgical strike saga or Pathankot occurrence and lately Pulwama’s episode, Indian authorities have chosen Pakistan for blame game. Now when Indian elections are in full swing and Modi who already lost his worth during the elections conducted in four states of India, he is trying to achieve his vote bank through anti-Pakistan notions. Modi thinks that his anti-Pakistan narrative is acceptable worldwide also so he might regain his office for next tenure of Indian premiership. Pakistan after successfully defeating terrorism still has many challenges to face. One of them is FATF. Financial Action Task Force is again a debate but very few know the details of this international body and its effects for Pakistan. FATF was formed in1989 during the G-7 Summit to deal with the growing issue of money laundering. After, 9/11 this watchdog extended its work parameters to terror financing and related funding of terrorist organizations. The FATF also works in close co-operation with a number of international and regional bodies involved in combating money laundering and terrorism financing. Pakistan already remained on the watch-list for a period of three years from year 2012-2015. Now there is again a move by USA to place Pakistan in the same category. The ulterior motives by elite powers to subjugate Pakistan are quite visible in the past few months. The reason for this move as US claims is that Pakistan must take action against all terrorist/militant groups and should not be selective.
But some recent reports coming from United Nations are quite shocking that to covertly support Modi, US is trying to play another game against Pakistan at international fora. According to several diplomats following the developments at the UN, the USA is pushing to put Masood Azhar, on the UN sanctions blacklist, to boost Indian PM Narendra Modi’s electoral chances than the merits of the case. Masood Azhar is head of already banned organization Jaish-e-Mohammad. India accused of his party JeM to be involved in Pulwama incident in IOK. On 27 March 2019, the US circulated a draft resolution at the 15-nation UN Security Council to blacklist Masood Azhar and subject him to a travel ban, an assets freeze and an arms embargo and declare him UN-designated global terrorist. One of senior diplomat at UN said that it seems the US wants to use this ploy as a gift to Modi as he faces challenges in his bid for re-election. Another diplomat said that Modi had lost on the military front, but the US effort is now aimed at improving his domestic image on the diplomatic side. Many members of the Security Council believe this rush by US for a listing has more to do with the upcoming Indian election than any other factor as Modi faces an uphill struggle at the ballot box. According to another diplomat this listing at UN has become an immensely political issue, especially when China has clearly voiced its opposition to this US move. China being a veto power member at UNSC said that China believes that both parties be given enough time for dialogue and consultations. Pakistan’s UN Ambassador Maleeha Lodhi reacted by saying that politicization of the UN’s counter-terrorism machinery, would only compromise the integrity of the system.
Though the legal authority of FATF and its existence is still questioned by masses but when such organizations get backing of major toothless organizations like UNSC then no one challenges their legality at international forums. Generally speaking, this FATF decision against Pakistan will disturb country in the long run and will help Modi to come in reign again. If the observations against Pakistan continue it will directly affect its image globally and setback to its efforts for war and successful fight against terrorism. Though world has seen and often acknowledged on different forums that Pakistan is an exemplary country which has eradicated menace of terrorism from its soil but the challenges posed by India in form of propaganda can never be taken casually.
