The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the global inter-governmental watchdog on money laundering and terrorist financing, has strongly condemned the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Jammu and Kashmir, calling attention to the critical role of financial networks in facilitating such acts of violence.
In an official statement, the FATF noted that the attack “could not occur without money and the means to move funds between terrorist supporters,” marking only the third time in a decade that the body has issued such a condemnation. The move signals growing global concern over the financial infrastructures that support extremist networks.
Sources have confirmed that the FATF is preparing to release a groundbreaking report next month that, for the first time, will recognize “state-sponsored terrorism” as a distinct and serious source of terror financing. This marks a significant shift in global counterterrorism discourse and aligns with long-standing Indian assertions regarding Pakistan’s alleged role in sponsoring cross-border terrorism.
The FATF’s upcoming report will include a comprehensive analysis of terrorist financing risks and introduce a new toolkit to assess contextual risk, helping countries more accurately identify and expose jurisdictions that support terror activities. Indian officials had earlier submitted a dossier urging the FATF to include Pakistan back on the ‘grey list’ for its continued financial and operational support to terror groups.
“This, and other recent attacks, could not occur without money and the means to move funds,” the FATF reiterated in its statement. “The international community feels the severity of the attack and highlights that such attacks will not go unpunished.”
India remains one of the few countries whose National Risk Assessment identifies state-sponsored terrorism as a core threat. The FATF’s recognition of this risk is expected to bolster India’s diplomatic efforts to isolate terror-sponsoring nations and enhance global mechanisms to choke terror funding at the source.
The FATF will also host a webinar in the coming weeks to help stakeholders in both public and private sectors understand evolving risks in terrorist financing and better respond to them with effective policy tools.
