Pahalgam not possible without terror funding: FATF
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global watchdog on terrorist financing, on Monday strongly condemned the April 22 Pahalgam terror attack, noting that such acts could not be executed without financial backing.
“Terrorist attacks kill, maim and spread fear worldwide. The FATF expresses grave concern and condemns the brutal terrorist attack in Pahalgam on April 22, 2025. This and other recent attacks could not have occurred without funding and the means to transfer money between terrorist supporters,” the FATF said in a statement. The remarks come as India intensifies efforts to have Pakistan relisted on the FATF’s “grey list” for its role in sponsoring cross-border terrorism.
Pakistan was removed from the list in 2002. The FATF also said it had enhanced its focus on assessing the effectiveness of countries’ counter-terror financing measures, identifying critical gaps that need to be addressed.
“The FATF has developed new guidelines on terrorist financing risks to assist experts evaluating over 200 jurisdictions in the global network. The FATF will soon release a comprehensive analysis of terrorist financing, compiling case studies provided by member nations,” it said.
Quoting FATF President Elisa de Anda Madrazo, the statement said, “No single company, authority or country can combat this challenge alone. We must stand united against global terrorism. Terrorists need to succeed only once to achieve their goal, while we must succeed every time to stop them.”
As the FATF reaffirmed its commitment to strengthening counter-terror financing (CFT) measures across its network, top government sources said they were confident that the agency’s upcoming review would validate India’s stance.
The sources cited key aspects of the FATF’s statement to bolster their case. Notably, this marks only the third time in a decade that the FATF has issued condemnation of a terrorist attack, following similar statements in 2015 and 2019. “The condemnation reflects the international community’s recognition of the attack’s severity and signals that such acts will not go unpunished,” official sources said.
They also pointed to the FATF’s new terrorist financing risk assessment toolkit, which they believe will prevent rogue states like Pakistan from misleading evaluators about their terror financing risks.
On the FATF’s upcoming report on terror financing risks, the sources said, “This is the first time the concept of state-sponsored terrorism is being acknowledged by the FATF as a funding source. Only India’s National Risk Assessment has so far recognized Pakistan-sponsored terrorism as a key terror financing risk. The inclusion of this concept in the FATF report signifies global acknowledgment of Pakistan’s role in state-sponsored terrorism."
Indian officials cited the presence of senior Pakistani military and political figures at the funerals of terrorists killed in Operation Sindoor, as well as the involvement of a Lashkar-e-Toiba (LeT) proxy in the Pahalgam attack, as evidence supporting Pakistan’s re-listing.
Pakistan has been grey-listed three times before. First from February 2008 (848 days), then from February 2021 (1,106 days), and most recently from June 2018 (1,576 days). Grey-listing subjects a country to heightened FATF scrutiny and restricts international financial inflows.
If Pakistan is relisted, India could leverage the move to challenge recent financial aid to Islamabad, including the IMF’s $2.1 billion disbursement under its extended fund facility and the ADB’s $800 million bailout package in June.
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