IN May 2025, India’s credibility was severely undermined when it was revealed that it had manipulated facts in international forums.
Despite restoring its credibility, in yet another attempt to malign Pakistan on the global stage, India lobbied aggressively to have the country reinserted into the FATF grey list. FATF member states not only refused to entertain India’s politicization of the technical forum but also acknowledged Pakistan’s progress on countering money laundering and terrorist financing. For Pakistan, this is a significant diplomatic achievement and a signal that the world is no longer willing to entertain India’s narrative without scrutiny.
Desperate to malign Pakistan following the May 2025 escalation, New Delhi returned with another attempt to control narratives, this time by hijacking the mandate of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The case study highlighted was not only unfounded but also exposed India’s obsession to exploit the objectives of international institutions for strategic purposes.
In a deliberate effort to malign Pakistan, the 2020 seizure of a cargo shipment case was linkedto proliferation finance (PF). The political bias is highlighted by the fact that the cargo container does not lie in the domain of PF, as it refers to the financial transactions for the development, acquisition, or movement of weapons of mass destruction (WMD). In this case, the absence of any financial network or money trail regarding the involvement in proliferation-exposed India’s frustration. India has a history of exploiting FATF as a weapon to stifle independent journalism and dissent. The discriminatory laws, such as Unlawful Activities Prevention Act, Prevention of Money Laundering Act and Foreign Contribution Regulation Act, under the shield of FATF, are used to counteract terror financing. While in reality, they aimed to silence dissent, a tool for political persecution of journalism and civil society. The raids on NewsClick in October 2023 and the founder’s detention are not isolated incidents; rather, they are part of a broader effort to silence dissenting opinions while claiming compliance with FATF standards.
Ambiguous and overbroad law provisions that lack judicial scrutiny and transparency routinely single out human rights defenders, student activists and journalists. Without a conviction or solid evidence of misconduct, NGOs, such as Amnesty International, have had their operations suspended, licenses canceled and accounts frozen. FATF’s guidelines, especially Recommendation 8, demand a risk-based, proportionate strategy that protects civil freedoms. However, India has completely violated international human rights law and FATF’s interpretation guidelines by arbitrarily targeting low-risk NGOs and journalists under general concerns. This internal abuse reflects India’s foreign policy of using technical directives for political purposes. India manipulates FATF domestically to stifle opposition, just as it does internationally to defame Pakistan.
India’s narrative manipulation aimed to defame genuine global efforts against terrorism and proliferation. This propaganda by India should not be left unaddressed. Bilateral resentment must not affect multilateral institutions. Otherwise, global institutions run the risk of losing credibility amid a misinformation campaign if they permit their reputation to be seized for nationalist agendas.An encouraging reaffirmation of that principle reflected in FATF’s reluctance to yield to political pressure.
—The writer is a Research Officer at the Centre for International Strategic Studies, AJK.
(tahreembukhari1692@gmail.com)
