Paris activists demand Pakistan blacklisting

The idea of the protest was to gather dissidents from Balochistan, Pashtun areas, Tibet, Hong Kong and Uyghur community to build a united front and to highlight the Pakistan-China nexus.

New Delhi: Exiled journalists, human rights activists, and Uyghurs on Tuesday gathered at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) headquarters in Paris to persuade the anti-terror financing organisation to place Pakistan on the blacklist.

"We have gathered here outside the FATF building as it will be meeting next week to discuss and review the case of Pakistan to make it remain under the grey list or put it in the black-list," said Taha Siddiqui, Pakistani journalist in exile and editor of South Asia press.

"Pakistan should be held accountable for its continued support to terror groups and terror financing. We're here to remind FATF News and its members to not come under China's pressure when they meet this week," tweeted South Asia Press responding to Taha Siddiqui's statement.

Fazal Rehman Afridi, Pashtun Rights Activist said: "It's very important for the international community. Look at the case of Daniel Pearl, the terrorist who murdered him, Omar Sheikh, who has recently been released by Sindh High Court. The human rights activists who are working for the rights of the people are languishing in jails. So it shows Pakistan's duplicity, what the government is saying to the world and what is happening. Even if they promulgate laws against terrorism, they will not act upon it, because the judiciary of Pakistan has compromised its working on the dictates of the military establishment - it is involved in terror-training, terror-financing, not only in Pakistan but in the region and around the world."

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"We request the international community, particularly the EU to look into the matter of GSP Plus, because Pakistan is a state that is financing terrorism, violating the human rights of its people. Pakistani Army is involved in human rights violations, war crimes and crimes against humanity. It should be made accountable," added Afridi.

Earlier, in March 2020, the European Union extended the Generalised System of Preferences (GSP) Plus status for cash-strapped Pakistan for two years, allowing the country access to preferential duties on exports to the EU.

"Pakistani courts recently ordered release Omar Sheikh, the terrorist who killed Daniel Pearl. Pakistani judiciary is compromised. It's working on dictates of Pakistani military which sponsors terrorism," South Asia Press said in a tweet.

"I am Uyghur and come from eastern Turkestan. I am here today to tell FATF that the real terrorists are the Chinese. Pakistan and China have economic friendship and use terrorism to kill people like Uyghurs, Kazakhs, Muslim people in eastern Turkestan," said Adil Qasim, exiled Uyghur dissident.

"We want to remind FATF News that the Chinese government is the real terrorist. They're killing us Uyghurs," said Qasim and urged FATF not to be blackmailed by China, and hold Pakistan accountable for supporting terror groups.

"Today also Quetta Shura, Lashkar-e-Toiba, Hafiz Saeed operate in Balochistan. They still hold rallies in the area, give open threats and the world does not do anything. FATF has not taken any big action; they just took a little step to put Pakistan under the grey list," said Munir Mengal, Baloch Voice.

"We have come here with all the proof to plead against Pakistan so that it can be blacklisted. Moreover, China, the financial source of Pakistan, is also assisting Pakistan as both of them have vested interests in the region. They are spreading terrorism, regional as well as international. All the finances collected from Balochistan in the form of taxes from the province as well as looting are done to spread terrorism. This is the time to black-list Pakistan," added Mengal.

ANI

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