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OPINION DECEMBER 30, 2022 | The Indian Eye 13

of physical collection that has been both China and Pakistan are mem-
prevalent for long. Such endeavors bers, as reinforced by Prime Minister
through social media as also peer-to- Modi when he said, “There should be
peer communication channels allow a code of conduct to prevent activities
for collections which may not neces- like cross-border terrorism and terror
sarily come with adequate regulation financing and also have a system for
and scrutiny. This can be exploited for their prevention.”
collection of funds both from unsus- India has initiated direct action
pecting donors, and others who may to challenge Pakistan’s previously un-
be sympathetic to the cause of individ- challenged exploitation of low inten-
uals, groups or ideologies associated sity wars within the spectrum of con-
with terrorism. flict. Unlike the past, major terrorist
Criminal cartels and groups cre- misadventures have been punished
ate and exploit underground channels across the Line of Control (LoC). The
for the movement of goods and mon- action undertaken in 2016 post Uri
ey. This, yet again, is easier in a weak terror strike, and in 2019 at Balakot,
and failing system of governance. are clear indicators of India’s intent
Terrorist groups tend to exploit these and red lines.
very channels and at times employ the These measures successfully re-
same agents who facilitate movement placed the advantage of unpredict-
of criminal proceeds, to reach their Union Home Minister Amit Shah meets Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President T. Raja ability that Pakistan held in the past.
intended recipient. While criminals The aggressor was pushed on the back
operate for profit and terrorist groups Kumar on the sidelines of the ‘No Money for Terror’ conference November 2022 (ANI) foot and forced to guess the scale and
for a political motive, they can share scope of future misadventures. It is
channels of communication and fi- therefore not surprising to find Paki-
nancial mobility to their mutual ad- stan desisting from undertaking ma-
vantage. jor strikes post 2019. These measures
Another concern is the consistent along the LoC have been accompa-
attempt by terrorist groups to employ nied by equally successful operations
religion as a tool for exploiting peo- against terrorist groups inside the
ple by collecting funds in the guise of country, especially in Kashmir. Secu-
donations. In countries like Pakistan, rity forces have successfully eliminat-
the employment of radical ideologies ed most of the major terrorist leaders
to garner support for terrorism is not and there has been a steady decline in
new. Groups like the Lashkar-e-Taiba the intensity of terrorist incidents.
and Jaish-e-Mohammed have been Historical evidence suggests that
undertaking such activities for long. terrorism does not recognize geo-
However, in addition to such pro- graphical boundaries and national
scribed groups, the possibility of con- identity. The cost of turning a blind
tributions purportedly for helping the eye towards terrorism or worse nur-
poor and needy within the society, get- Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman meets with Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on turing it as Pakistan has chosen to do,
ting funneled to support terrorism has has always been high. Even as India
also emerged as a serious challenge. the sidelines of the IMF-WB Annual Meetings, in Washington DC in October 2022 (ANI Photo) has displayed the will and resolve to
The growing relevance of terror- take on the challenge of terrorism,
ism finance has simultaneously led efforts of international organizations be seen in West Asia, where partner international cooperation in the real
international organizations like the and individual countries. Pakistan countries have lent their support in sense unfortunately remains work
United Nations, Financial Action Task has resorted to every possible option the fight against terrorism and its in progress. And until the world rec-
Force (FATF), as well as individual available to fund terrorism, from di- funding. This includes Saudi Arabia ognizes the importance of uniting
countries to strengthen their proce- rect provision of money by state in- and United Arab Emirates as two against this challenge, terrorists will
dures, establish stringent regulations, stitutions to open and unrestrained prime examples. If one was to look continue to exploit the cleavages that
and plug loopholes that were being collection of money by UN proscribed beyond the semantics of resolutions exist within the fractured internation-
exploited by terrorist groups. The ef- terrorist leaders.8 They have used the passed by the Organization of Islamic al approach.
forts of the international community narcotics trade as a means of gener- Cooperation (OIC), countries within
received a fillip after 9/11. For India, it ating money. In addition, Fake Indian the region have cooperated with India Col Vivek Chadha (Retd) is
was the attack on the Parliament and Currency Notes (FICN) have been to curb the funding of terrorism. a Senior Fellow at the Manohar Parri-
26/11. These gruesome incidents led printed in Pakistani state establish- The decision of United States, kar Institute for Defense Studies and
to a number of initiatives which have ments for proliferation through a va- United Kingdom, France and Ger- Analyses, New Delhi.
improved counter terrorism finance riety of means inside India. Pakistan many to nominate Pakistan for its Views expressed are of the author and
capacities and capabilities. However, has also abused trade as a means of deficiencies in the FATF, which led to do not necessarily reflect the views of
the continuing incidence of terrorism generating and transferring money to its inclusion in the Grey List, is yet an- the Manohar Parrikar IDSA or of the
across the world suggests that much fund terrorism. other example of a concerted effort to Government of India.
more needs to be done, before terror- India has adopted a three- make Pakistan pay for its misdeeds.12
ist funds can be squeezed decisively. pronged approach towards Pakistan There is no major international event This is an abridged version of the article
Pakistan remains the most dan- for its continuing funding of terrorism where state terrorism and the focus which first appeared in the Comments
gerous and potent threat, as it con- as state policy. This can be described on Pakistan is not being highlighted, section of the website (www.idsa.in) of
tinues to wage a strategy of state as Diplomacy, Direct Action and either directly or indirectly. This in- Manohar Parrikar Institute for Defense
terrorism not only against India but Defensive Measures. The success of cludes organizations like the Shanghai Studies and Analyses, New Delhi on
also against Afghanistan, despite the India’s diplomatic initiatives can best Cooperation Organization, of which December 21, 2022

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