Hours after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) excluded Pakistan from the grey list of the global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering,  India responded to the move by saying the country must continue to take credible action against terrorism.

“We understand that Pakistan will continue to work with the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) to further improve its Anti Money Laundering (AML)/Counter Terror Financing (CFT) system,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.

“As a result of FATF scrutiny, Pakistan has been forced to take some action against well-known terrorists, including those involved in attacks against the entire international community in Mumbai on 26/11,” the statement added.

He further said, “It is in global interest that the world remains clear that Pakistan must continue to take credible, verifiable, irreversible and sustained action against terrorism and terrorist financing emanating from territories under its control.”

Earlier, on Friday, the FATF removed Pakistan from the grey list of the global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering after four years. “Pakistan is no longer subject to FATF’s increased monitoring process; to continue to work with APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering) to further improve its AML/CFT (anti-money laundering & counter-terrorist financing) system,” the FATF said.

The global terror financing watchdog also said that Pakistan “strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime and addressed technical deficiencies to meet commitments of its action plans regarding strategic deficiencies that FATF identified.”