Pakistan taking Chinese help to frame Indians for terror: Reports

According to diplomats and foreign ministry officials, Pakistan, with the help of its  ally China has moved the UN Security Council under resolution 1267 (the Al-Qaida Sanctions Committee, or the 1267 Sanctions Committee as it is now known) seeking action against Indian national Ajoy Mistry who it describes as an Islamic State terrorist targeting Pakistan, reported Hindustan Times.

Islamabad’s proposal to add Mistry in the ISIL and al Qaida Sanctions List has been circulated by the chair of the 1267 Committee to the other members this month, the diplomats added as reported by the newspaper.

The US had recently blocked China-sponsored proposal by Pakistan where it had attempted to designate Indian engineer Venumadhav Dongara  as a global terrorist by the 1267 committee.

He was working on transmission lines in Afghanistan.

According to South Block officials, the list entry and narrative summary for designating Ajoy Mistry under the 1267 resolution describes him as a “coordinator of terror network in Afghanistan, who works with ISIL-Khorasan to undertake different terror activities in Pakistan”, reported Hindustan Times.

The submitted dossier also claims that he was involved in “facilitating the movement of foreign terrorist fighters from Syria and Iraq to Afghanistan and held a number of meetings with ISIL-Khorsan leaders in 2017 and 2018”, reported the newspaper.

It further states that Ajoy Mistry provided finances to ISIL-K leadership in August-September 2018 to carry out suicide attacks at Kalaya Bazaar, Orakzai, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan in which 31 persons were killed, the Indian newspaper said.

According to Indian security agencies, Mistry holds an Indian passport and worked two years (2016-2018) as a cook in Abu Dhabi.

He had worked as a cook in US Army camp in Iraq between 2008 and 2011.

He spent two years as a cook in Afghanistan in 2012.

After being warned, the Indian officials told Hindustan Times, he returned to India and is now in Kolkata.

The Indian officials told the newspaper Pakistan may be looking at trying to list at least three or four more Indian nationals.

With several Pakistani citizens being designated as global terrorists including Dawood Ibrahim, Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar, Islamabad wants to achieve some sort of parity with India by getting an Indian national designated with the help of China, they added. 

Pakistan and FATF challenge:

Pakistan might be facing strong action by international terror financing watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and maybe put in the 'Dark Grey List', media reports said.

Putting the country in the 'Dark Grey List' means, FATF is issuing a last warning to it to improve the situation.

Ahead of its plenary session, FATF had said in a statement that the areas of discussion will include: "Progress by Iran, Pakistan and other countries that present a risk to the financial system."

While Pakistan will submit a dossier of actions taken by Islamabad agains terror financing and money laundering, FATF will finalise its decision on Pakistan on Friday, Oct 18 in Paris, reported India Today.

Sources told the magazine that Pakistan is on the verge of strong action by FATF, given its inadequate performance, whereby it managed to pass in only 6 of 27 items.

Dissatisfied with Pakistan's efforts in preventing terror financing, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had earlier placed the Asian nation on its grey list, following a plenary meeting in Paris.