India slams Pakistan's fictitious terror charges on four Indian nationals

New Delhi: Reacting to queries on reports that global anti-terror watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has now decided that Pakistan should continue to remain in the FATF’s “grey list”, India on Thursday said it was a vindication of its position and pointed out how Pakistan continues to remain a safe haven for terrorism. The FATF’s "grey list" comprises nations like Pakistan, seen to have failed to fulfil their obligations to combat terror-financing. The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) also said Pakistan had levelled “fictitious charges”on four Indian nationals whom Islamabad has accused of terrorism, and said Pakistan’s claims have “no credibility”.

Asked meanwhile about a recent meeting of the Organisation of Islamic Conference (OIC) on the Kashmir issue apparently held at Pakistan’s initiative, the MEA said the OIC has “no locus standi” on India’s internal matters and that it should avoid making “unwarranted references”.

It may be recalled that the FATF had earlier in February this year decided at its plenary meet in Paris to continue to keep Pakistan in the FATF's greylist at least for a few more months after warning Islamabad of stern action if it fails to check flow of money to terror groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and the Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM).

According to news agency reports now, the FATF at its latest plenary meet has decided that Pakistan will stay in the grey list at least till October this year when the next FATF plenary will take place.

It may also be recalled that while being under global pressure for its poor record in failing to dismantle terror infrastructure on its own soil, Pakistan has continued its gameplan of trying to get Indian nationals designated as terrorists by the UN.

On Wednesday, Islamabad, had in an official statement, named four Indian nationals and accused them of carrying out terrorism against Pakistan, acknowledging that its efforts to get one of them designated had been rejected at the UN recently.

The Pakistani move is understood to be a desperate retaliatory one to level false allegations after India had managed to get Pakistan-based terrorist and JeM chief Masood Azhar designated as a global terrorist by the UN in May last year.