Terrorism: Pakistan team visits Australia to hold talks with FATF to exit grey list

According to  Dunya News, the delegation is headed by Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan Reza Baqir.

The delegation presented its 26-page report before the intergovernmental organization regarding the measures which have been taken to prevent money laundering, terror financing, and other recommendations, reported Dunya News.

The National Assembly’s Standing Committee on Finance recently passed the Foreign Exchange Regulations Amendment Bill, 2019 and the Anti-money Laundering Amendment Bill, 2019, which is meant to show Pakistan’s commitment regarding the implementation of the FATF action plan, reported Samaa Digital.

The  FATF Asia Pacific Group on money laundering is meeting in Australia from Aug 18-23.

"The 2019 APG Annual Meeting and Technical Assistance and Training Forum will be held at the Hotel Realm in Canberra, Australia from 18 – 23 August 2019. The APG Annual Meeting is the primary policy and decision-making vehicle for the APG," read the website of the APG.

Lashkar terror links in Australia:

Pakistani terrorist groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba have now for long been using Australia for its activities too, according to intelligence sources.

Take the example of Muhammad Umar Rinch, a Pakistani national who studied in Australia, who had come in contact with Pak based Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) commander Umar Farooq, reports and intelligence sources said.

He was involved in collection of funds for the “Mujahideen of Palestine”, sources said.

Umar Rinch was in Australia on a student visa which was due to expire on Mar 15, 2014. According to Rinch’s travel movements, it is likely that Umar Rinch studied Economics at the North Sydney campus of the Australian Catholic University rather than at the Victorian Campus.

Umar Rinch later fled to Dubai and from there he went back to Pakistan.

In another instance,  Sajid Majeed, who also is known as Sajid Mir, ex-ISI Major and key handler of David Coleman Headley for the 26/11 Mumbai attack is currently attached with LeT, was once the handler of a French convert to Islam named Willie Brigitte.

During October-2001, Frenchman Willie Brigitte along with one Faheem Khalid Lodhi had attended a LeT training camp in Pakistan. Sajid Mir directed Brigitte to return to Paris to act as a point of contact for any LeT operative transiting through France.

Sajid Mir had directed Brigitte to return to Paris to act as a point of contact for any LeT operative transiting through France.   

In early 2003, Faheem Khalid Lodhi had returned to Australia and formed a terror cell with the help of a local Imam called Bilal Khazal in one of Sydney Mosques. Faheem Khalid Lodhi had gathered maps of three Sydney defense sites, chemicals and recipes for poisons and homemade bombs to carry out his plan, sources said.

Sajid in 2004, ordered Brigitte to travel to Australia and assist Faheem Khalid Lodhi to select a suitable target and purchase the chemicals necessary to build a large bomb. Willie Brigitte arrived in Australia in May 2003 specifically to arrange the assembling of a car bomb designated to the Sydney 2003 plot, it said.

Eventually, both Faheem Khalid Lodhi and Willie Brigitte were arrested in October 2003 and convicted in 2007.

An expert said: "LeT terrorist attacks in India have impacted Western interests there—including Australian interests—two Australians were killed in the 2008 Mumbai attacks. While LeT may not specifically target Australian interests, Australian interests may be impacted in LeT attacks directed at others—particularly mass-casualty attacks against soft targets such as hotels, transport infrastructure, and tourist sites."