Owaisi speaks out on Pakistan propaganda, wants country back in FATF grey list

AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi, during the Indian delegation's trip to Saudi Arabia as part of the Indian government's mega outreach in the aftermath of Operation Sindoor, spoke at an interaction in Riyadh, where he spoke on the actions taken by Pakistan to allow militants to infiltrate and cause havoc in India.

He was speaking on the need for cooperation between nations to ensure that terrorism is stamped out and mutual cooperation between friendly partners is improved. He said that India was and will always be a safe haven for Muslims, rubbishing any narrative of communal disharmony.

'Pak's false propaganda'

He exposed Pakistan's false propaganda to project its own conflict with India as part of an alleged Hindu-Muslim issue, saying that more than 240 million proud Muslims live in harmony in India.

He also emphasised that India has supported the flourishing of Islamic studies and research, and has several reputed scholars in the field.

Also Read: India's stand on terrorism firm: Baijayant Panda in Saudi

"It is most unfortunate that Pakistan gives out a wrong message to the Arab world and the Muslim world that it is a Muslim country and India is not. There are 240 million proud Indian Muslims living in India. Our Islamic scholars are much better than any scholar in the world. They can speak the best of the Arabic language... This is Pakistan's false propaganda that India is hurting them because they are a Muslim country," he said, adding that if Pakistan ever stops supporting and helping terrorist groups through economic and military support, there will be stability in South Asia.

'Pak officials connected to terror groups'

Calling out Pakistani propaganda about the prowess of their military power, he said, "What happened on (May) 9th? Their nine airbases were targetted. If India had wanted, we could have completely damaged those airbases. But we wanted to show them a mirror and say, 'we are warning you, don't do it, don't force us to go on that path'... nine terrorist organisations' headquarters were targetted. Another shocking thing was that the person who led the namaz for the terrorists who were killed is a designated US terrorist."

Owaisi pointed to a photo showing a US-designated terrorist sitting next to Pakistan's army chief Asim Munir, saying it shows clear links between the high-level officials in Pakistani military and government to terrorist groups in the region.

Also Read: Pakistan a threat to humanity: Owaisi's message as all-party team member

He said, “…When this person [Asim Munir] was made a Field Marshal in Pakistan, a US-designated terrorist called Mohammad Ehsan was sitting right beside the Field Marshal. There are photographs of him shaking hands with this field marshal.”

"There is clear evidence of Pakistan's involvement. These terror groups are prospering over there, they are being trained over there, and the whole task is to destabilise India to create more Hindu-Muslim riots in India," Owaisi said.

'Put Pak back in FATF grey list'

Owaisi's biggest ask was that Pakistan be put back on the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) grey list to curb terror funding.

While the list is specifically focussed on stopping illegal money-laundering, Owaisi said that this is required to ensure that Pakistan does not misuse funds to promote militant cross-border terrorism.

Also Read: Ghulam Nabi Azad, part of all-party delegation to Gulf, admitted to hospital

"Pakistan must be brought back to the FATF grey list. That is how we will be able to control this terror-financing of all these terrorist organisations," he said.

'No action against 26/11 accused'

Owaisi also said that the Manmohan Singh government had handed over evidence to Pakistan after the Mumbai terror attacks in 2008 to start investigations. But when India asked for accused Sajid Mir to be produced to be investigated, Pakistan had announced that he was dead. Under FATF scrutiny, the truth was revealed that the suspect Mir was still alive.

"After 26/11, my government, headed by the then-Prime Minister, late Dr Manmohan Singh, gave them all the evidence. The Indian investigators went to Pakistan with the evidence, but you will be surprised to know that nothing moved forward. What made Pakistan move forward in this terrorist trial was when Pakistan was put on the FATF grey list. One meeting was held in Germany, and India wanted one Sajid Mir to be indicted, but Pakistan said he's dead... Pakistan came up to the Committee of FATF and said Sajid Mir is alive. Can you imagine the country which was saying he's dead, suddenly, he's alive? And then the Pakistani government said that our courts have convicted him for some 5 to 10 years, but the main culprits of the 26/11 are still scot-free. They were convicted of money laundering, not for terrorism," Owaisi said.

Also Read: 'Zero-tolerance towards terrorism': Qatar to Indian delegation

He also said that Indian agencies were capable enough to record conversations of terrorist groups in Pakistan in which terrorists were told not to lose heart and to kill as many Indians as possible to reach "Jannat" (Heaven).

Delegations' message

He asked for the support of the nations that the delegations go to, in ensuring terrorism is stamped out across the world, and that funding to these groups are stopped with immediate effect.

The delegation Owaisi is part of is led by BJP MP Baijayant Panda and includes BJP's Nishikant Dubey, Phangnon Konyak, Rekha Sharma, nominated MP Satnam Singh Sandhu, and former diplomat Harsh Shringla.

Also Read: Pak army chief Asim Munir promoted to Field Marshal; trolls have a field day

This delegation has travelled to Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, and Algeria, to discuss India's position on combating terrorism in the wake of the Pahalgam attack and Operation Sindoor.

FATF

When the FATF places a jurisdiction under increased monitoring, it means the country has committed to resolve swiftly the identified strategic deficiencies within agreed timeframes and is subject to increased monitoring. This list is often externally referred to as the "grey list".

Also Read: Op Sindoor: Tharoor praises Modi; Congress leader calls him BJP's 'super spokesperson'

The FATF grey list, also known as "Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring", identifies countries that are actively working with the FATF to address strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering, terrorist-financing, and proliferation financing.

In an October 21, 2022 update in the FATF website, Pakistan was no longer subject to increased monitoring by the FATF.