Removal of Pakistan from FATF grey list on terror financing will create more difficulties: Armenian Secy

By Rajnish Singh
New Delhi [India], November 18 (ANI): Removal of Pakistan from the FATF grey list on terror financing will not help in the fight against terrorism and create more difficulties, Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia, Armen Grigoryan said on Friday.
Speaking to ANI on the sideline of the two-day ‘No Money For Terror’ Ministerial Conference, Grigoryan also said “Terrorism is one of the security challenges of India and Armenia supports it in its fight against terrorism”.
“The FATF list is very important and it helps to fight and target terrorist groups…For sure, this kind of removal will not help. It will create more difficulties. I know how India is more impacted by terrorists. What kind of challenges it creates and which kind of security environment India lives,” Grigoryan said.
He answered in response to the question of how the fight against terrorism will help if countries such as Pakistan would be removed from the FATF grey list.
Global terror-financing watchdog FATF last month announced Pakistan’s removal from its grey list, saying the country has largely completed its action plans on anti-money laundering and financing of terrorism. Pakistan has been on the FATF grey list since June 2018.
Replying over terror financing through the dark web, social media crowdfunding and other methods, the Secretary of the Security Council of Armenia said, “Actually new technology creates positive impact and creates opportunities to meet challenges that humanity has. It brings also security challenges. So, social networks and other resources can be used by terrorists for bad purposes.”
“For all states, there should be a major goal in order to make sure that the social networks and other means of technologies can be used only in the interest of humanity, economic development, and in the interest of increasing security and not create security challenges.”
Grigoryan also stressed that “Terror impacts every country and everyone is negatively impacted by terror. Everyone understands that alone no one can meet the challenges of terrorism. That is why all countries should bring their effort together in order to fight terrorism.”
Armenia is impacted negatively by terrorists in the context of Azerbaijan during the 2020 war, said Grigoryan when asked about the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan.
He further said “Azerbaijan used terrorist groups and mercenaries”, and that the “financing of these terrorists came from Azerbaijan”.
“Armenia has facts of these. Two of the terrorists are imprisoned in Armenia and they gave a lot of details and information about how they participated in the 2020 war. So, Azerbaijan continues to use terrorist groups,” Grigoryan said.
Armenia is part of 78 countries and multilateral organisations which are part of the ‘No Money For Terror’ Ministerial Conference which is being organized in New Delhi between November 18 and 19. (ANI)