India said at the global forum on Monday that the attempt to cast doubt on scrutiny on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gray list is a reflection of its concerns, as it has made a backdoor dig at Pakistan, a name that has appeared on the list in the past.
Addressing a side event of the Counter-Terrorism Week 2026, India’s Permanent Representative to the UN, Parvathanini Harish, described the FATF as an “indispensable” pillar of global counter-terrorism financing.
Harish said, according to a report, “The work of the FATF is technical, evidence-based, and rooted in internationally accepted standards. Attempts to question its credibility often reflect fear of scrutiny rather than real concerns about the process.” that I a report.
Pakistan has been on the FATF gray list since 2018 but was removed in 2022.
India urges ‘credible compliance’
Addressing the UN, the Indian representative urged those subject to FATF oversight to practice “credible compliance” rather than raise questions.
“The answer to FATF scrutiny is not politicized activity in UN forums, but credible compliance. Countries that allow their territories, institutions or financial channels to be misused in terrorism must stop exporting instability and start fulfilling their obligations to international peace and security,” Harish said, in a veiled reference to Pakistan.
India has long accused Pakistan of harboring and financing terrorism. The Indian government has long said that it does not consider terrorists and their financiers as separate entities.
“For decades, my country India has faced cross-border terrorism, and new digital technologies make the sources, methods and channels used to flow assets more complex,” Harish said.
Read also: India presses FATF to add Pakistan to its gray list: Report
India has also expressed concerns about the use of social media, technology and crowdfunding platforms to finance terrorism. “They have been sponsored, including by some government agencies,” he said, again referring to Pakistan.
The Indian representative supported the FATF and said that the world’s response to terrorist financing must be based on the global body’s standards.
India grants post of Vice-Chair of FATF
In a first of its kind in India, Union Culture Minister Vivek Agarwal was recently appointed as Vice-Chair of FATF for the period from July 2026 to June 2027. Days before this development, a report said that India is expected to approach FATF and seek to add Pakistan to the gray list again.
“Grey List” of FATF accounts for jurisdictions subject to further monitoring. When a country is included on this list, it means that it is “committed to quickly resolving identified strategic deficiencies within agreed time frames and is subject to further monitoring.”
At present, there are as many as 25 countries listed as FATF’s “increasedly monitored jurisdictions”.
(With inputs from ANI)
