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Pakistan, US at Odds Over Islamabad's Counterterror Commitment

by Ayaz Gul

   ISLAMABAD --

   Pakistan and the United States remained at odds over Islamabad's degree
   of commitment to rooting out violent extremists and their sources of
   financing, following a candid exchange between both sides in Islamabad
   this week.

   While the U.S. continued to push Pakistan to take action against groups
   it says operate out of the country against neighboring Afghanistan and
   India, Pakistan criticized the U.S. for recent actions that Islamabad
   said undermined that very objective.

   "I conveyed to her that the U.S. has done a great disservice to our
   fight against extremism," Pakistan's interior minister, Ahsan Iqbal,
   said about his meeting with Lisa Curtis, the U.S. National Security
   Council's senior director for South and Central Asia. She was on a
   two-day visit to Islamabad that ended Tuesday.

   Iqbal was complaining about the recent U.S. push to list Pakistan as a
   country that does not have adequate mechanisms to control terrorism
   financing.

   As a result of this push, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a
   global watchdog that met in Paris last week, is expected to add
   Pakistan to its gray list in June. This could hurt Pakistan's already
   flailing economy by adding scrutiny to its financial transactions and
   increasing its costs of doing business internationally.

   Iqbal said the move linked Pakistan's fight against extremism to "the
   U.S. and Western countries, giving extremist groups a narrative that
   they are being targeted on external pressure."

   He also said the economic impact of the FATF decision would shrink the
   budgetary resources for the ongoing security operations in the country.

   The FATF move is seen as a way for the U.S. to push Pakistan to change
   its behavior toward regional security issues, particularly Afghanistan.
   The U.S. policy for South Asia, which was announced by President Donald
   Trump in August of last year, promised to use all instruments of
   American power, including economic, to get a desired outcome in the
   region.

   'Concern about ongoing deficiencies'

   Curtis reinforced that message in her meetings this week.

   "Ms. Curtis urged the government of Pakistan to address the continuing
   presence of the Haqqani network and other terrorist groups within its
   territory, and reiterated the international community's long-standing
   concern about ongoing deficiencies in Pakistan's implementation of its
   anti-money laundering/counterterrorism finance regime," said a press
   release issued by the U.S. embassy in Islamabad.

   Iqbal said the pressure was unlikely to make a difference.

   "We have lived through autumn in Pak-U.S. relations many times before.
   This will also pass," he said.

   Still, both sides seemed to want to work past their differences.

   The embassy press release said the U.S. "seeks to move toward a new
   relationship with Pakistan, based on a shared commitment to defeat all
   terrorist groups that threaten regional stability and security, as well
   as on a shared vision of a peaceful future for Afghanistan."

   In his last briefing, Pakistan's Foreign Office spokesman, Mohammad
   Faisal, said his country was trying to find common ground to work with
   the U.S.

   Bilateral relations have been tense since the announcement of the South
   Asia policy. U.S. officials blame Pakistan for the instability in
   Afghanistan, saying Pakistan provides havens to militants who attack
   NATO and Afghan forces across the border.
   Many in Pakistan believe the U.S. does not understand its security
   concerns vis-a-vis its regional rival India, making cooperation
   difficult. In his policy address, Trump urged India to play a greater
   role in Afghanistan, a move that was met with alarm in Islamabad.

   "The U.S. must have a security framework for the region that addresses
   legitimate security concerns of both Afghanistan and Pakistan," Iqbal
   maintained.

   U.S. officials say Pakistan's concerns are overblown.