Pakistan ‘disappointed’ by US view on anti-terror measures: FO – Pakistan

The Foreign Ministry said Tuesday that it was "disappointed" by a report recently issued by the US State Department, which had criticized the Pakistani government for allegedly not doing enough to stop militant teams, including Lashkar-e- Taiba and Jaish-e- Mohammad

"Pakistan is disappointed with the statements made in the 2018 Country Report on Terrorism of the US Department of State," said the statement of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on the matter. "The report completely ignores the factual situation on the ground and the tremendous contribution made and the sacrifices made by Pakistan in the last two decades in the international fight against terrorism."

"These efforts have not only resulted in the removal of Al-Qaeda from this region, but they have also made the world a safer place."

Read: The United States sees gaps in Pakistan's fight against terrorist financing

The Foreign Ministry protested against the statements made by the report, stating: "As noted in the report, Pakistan faces the threat of terrorism from several groups, including TTP (Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakisatn), JuA (Jamaat -ul- Ahrar) and ISKP (Islamic State of Iraq and Levante – Khorasan Province).

"However, the report does not mention that these groups continue to operate and carry out terrorist activities against Pakistan from all over the [western] border."

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said that Islamabad committed to take "concrete actions" under the National Action Plan, which has been prepared with the consensus of all national stakeholders. In addition, Pakistan has also taken "extensive legal and administrative measures" to ensure the implementation of the 1267 sanctions regime of the United Nations Security Council, the statement said.

The statement further noted that Pakistan had facilitated talks between the Afghan Taliban and the United States government, and that their role in efforts to establish peace in the region had been recognized worldwide.

"Any insinuation to the contrary is unjustified and inconsistent with the positive trajectory of bilateral relations. [between Washington and Islamabad]"said the statement.

The State Department report, which was published on November 1 and discussed the progress made against terrorism by different countries in 2018, said that although Pakistan had implemented international standards to combat money laundering and terrorist financing and also criminalized such acts, "implementation remains uneven." In addition, he said the country had not taken enough measures against "externally focused groups such as LeT and JeM that continued to operate, train, organize and raise funds in Pakistan."

He further claimed that while Pakistan had extended its support to the Afghan peace process, "it did not restrict the operation of the Afghan Taliban and HQN (Haqqani Network)" from its territory.

However, the United States report acknowledged that Pakistan's 2015 National Action Plan to combat terrorism included efforts to prevent and counteract the financing of terrorism, including through improved coordination between agencies.

The law designates the use of non-licensed hundi and hawala systems as predicate offenses of terrorism and requires banks to report suspicious transactions to the FIU of Pakistan, the Financial Monitoring Unit of the State Bank.

However, "these unlicensed money transfer systems persisted throughout the country and were exposed to abuse by terrorist funders operating in the cross-border area," the report said.