Pahalgam terror attack: Will Pakistan walk the FATF tightrope again?
As India reels from the emotional impact of the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of almost 27 civilians, the incident has sparked a renewed diplomatic standoff with Pakistan. With the country's suspected link with TRF, the threat of Pakistan again making a reservation in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list looms large.
As India reels from the emotional impact of the Pahalgam terror attack that claimed the lives of almost 27 civilians, the incident has sparked a renewed diplomatic standoff with Pakistan. With the country's suspected link with the resistance front claiming responsibility of the massacre, the threat of Pakistan again making a reservation in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list looms large.
TRF claims responsibility
The Resistance Front (TRF) is a banned terror outfit and widely regarded as a proxy of the Pakistan-based Lashkar-e-Taiba. Formed in the aftermath of the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir, TRF is believed to be composed of operatives from both Lashkar-e-Taiba and Hizbul Mujahideen.
Though this group was banned by the Ministry of Home Affairs in 2023, its operational footprint continues to pose a severe threat to regional stability of Jammu and Kashmir.
With Pakistan under suspicion for it’s long-standing support of proxy terror outfits, India is signaling that business-as-usual is no longer an option. However, Islamabad has denied any connection with the attack responding with a series of retaliatory moves of its own.
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How fast can the Sukhoi Su-30 fighter jet really fly?
)
Did China ask its people 'not to respond to aliens'? Origin of bizarre claim on social media
)
MS Dhoni-CSK Fallout? Report claims failed stake sale talks triggered rift
)
Scientists reveal the SAFEST COUNTRY when catastrophe strikes the planet
)
Serial killer on the loose in South Korea's Jeju Island? Fourth body found in three days as more than a dozen people go missing
)
2/3rd of glacier detached, collapsed: ISRO satellite images reveal what triggered Nepal floods
)
Trump once again claims without him there would be ‘no Israel right now’
)
Foreign espionage attacks against German companies surge to 37%, Bitkom report reveals
)
Blake Lively wins partial legal fee from Justin Baldoni after $8M request
)
Why is Pakistan deploying Turkish Bayraktar TB2 drones near India border?
)
'OH MY GOD! We've found other agents!': Investigators discover not one or two, almost 700 OpenAI AI agents went rogue, hacked Hugging Face
)
Lunar eclipse 2026: India timings, places to see and more. August Blood moon factsheet
)
RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat on global outreach tour
)
Both pilots killed as training aircraft crashes in Lucknow – What we know
)
16-year-old charged with preparing terror attack on kindergarten in Norway
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
How the S-400 protects itself from enemy attacks
)
Nepal floods: Over 165 dead, 400 missing; US, India, China, World Bank mobilise aid
)
India's multi-layered watch: The new surveillance war
)
5 doomsday planes spotted in US skies hours after CIA director's secret trip to Russia
)
9/11 mastermind Khalid Sheikh Mohammed to finally face trial in 2028, nearly 27 years after horrific attacks
)
Islamabad hospital fire: What we know about one of the biggest facility that housed Imran Khan
)
Workers run for life while filming Nepal flash flood: Scary new visuals emerge from Rasuwa
)
Russian military planes enter South Korean air defence zone amid rising tensions with North Korea: What's happening
)
Ron Weasley Is Back! Rupert Grint set to return to Harry Potter universe on Broadway
)
400-year-old 'vampire' grave in Poland reveals non-existent genetic lineage
)
Dolly Parton, global icon and queen of country music, dies at 80
)
Nepal flash floods: Kailash Mansarovar yatra affected, close to 400 pilgrims out of contact
)
'If he is dead, they're putting on a pretty good show': Trump casts fresh doubt over Mojtaba Khamenei's fate
)
Man arrested near US Capitol with guillotine in pickup truck: What happened?
&im=FitAndFill=(700,400))
Why the Su-30MKI cockpit is painted bright turquoise green
Pakistan and FATF
Despite being removed from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list in October 2022 — a move acknowledging improvements in its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing frameworks — Pakistan's record remains under scrutiny.
The FATF, an intergovernmental watchdog that deals with combating money laundering and terror financing, had placed Pakistan under increased monitoring from 2018 to 2022 due to its failure to act against known terror financiers and operatives.
India had responded cautiously at the time of Pakistan’s exit from the grey list. Ministry of External Affairs had remarked that “Pakistan must continue to take credible, verifiable, irreversible, and sustainable action against terrorism and terrorist financing emanating from territories under its control.”
As of February 2025, 25 countries are included in the FATF grey list including Algeria, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kenya, Nepal, Syria as well as Yemen.
What can happen next?
With the next FATF plenary scheduled for June, the Pahalgam attack could significantly influence the global assessment of Pakistan’s counter-terror efforts. If evidence links the perpetrators directly to Pakistani soil or support systems, it could trigger renewed calls for Islamabad’s reclassification into the grey list — a move that could further isolate the country financially and diplomatically.
