India on Saturday welcomed the step by an international organisation that placed Pakistan on a special list of countries that are kept under watch in a move to counter international terror financing.

In a statement, the External Affairs Ministry welcomed the grey-listing of Pakistan by the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and expressed hope that Pakistan would prevent terror acts emanating from its territory.

“We hope that the FATF action plan shall be complied with in a time-bound manner and credible measures would be taken by Pakistan to address global concerns related to terrorism emanating from any territory under its control,” said the Ministry spokesperson in a statement after Islamabad was placed on the grey list of the FATF on Friday.

Being on the grey list will require Pakistan to meet additional guarantees while borrowing finance from international donors such as the International Monetary Fund.

Global pressure

Pakistan had been on the grey list between 2012 and 2015 but was taken off the list. But subsequent terror attacks on Indian targets by groups such as the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), headed by Hafiz Saeed, and Jaish-e-Mohammed, led by Masood Azhar, revived the international demand to place the country back on the list.

“Pakistan has given a high-level political commitment to address the global concerns regarding its implementation of the FATF standards for countering terror financing and anti-money laundering, especially in respect of UN-designated and internationally proscribed terror entities and individuals. The freedom and impunity with which the designated terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and entities like Jamaat-ud-Dawaa, Lashkar-e-Taiba, Jaish-e-Mohammed continue to operate in Pakistan is not in keeping with such commitments,” said the Ministry spokesperson.

The decision to place Pakistan back on the grey list was taken following the plenary session of the FATF in February and it finally came into force on Friday. Pakistan had activated diplomatic channels to prevent the listing but Islamabad could not stop the move.