The fact that India has made it to the top of the Financial Action Task Force as vice president for the first time has set off some political demands in no time. Asaduddin Owaisi, head of the AIMIM, has told the government to make sure Pakistan is put back on the FATF’s grey list and to ratchet up multilateral pressure on those behind the latest in a string of terror acts.
Owaisi made his point in a post: he linked Vivek Aggarwal’s new role with a need to be more hard-nosed with Pakistan. He wants the TRF listed by the UN and said the government ought to have tried to do the same with the ISI. The November 2025 suicide blast at the Red Fort was put forward as a reason why this can’t wait.
What Owaisi is after
The MP from Hyderabad has put forth a sterner line for New Delhi’s counter-terror efforts:
– Put Pakistan back on the FATF grey list where they belong
– Get the UN to list TRF; don’t just count on the US
– Make a move to sanction or at least scrutinise the ISI
The weight of the grey list
When the FATF puts you on the grey list, it means there are holes in your defences against money laundering and the funding of terror and arms. You may be on board with reforms, but the tag comes with a price. It’s not a sanction, but it does mean you’ll be under a microscope for compliance.
You can feel the impact. Banks will be more of a pain with their checks. Investors get skittish. Your financial standing takes a hit. And then you have the IMF and World Bank looking over your shoulder, which makes inaction an expensive option.
On the TRF question
Indian authorities have connected the Resistance Front to the Pahalgam attack and see them as a Lashkar-e-Toiba front. The US has already put them down as a global terrorist organisation after they put their name to the strike.
But Owaisi says a US label doesn’t go far enough. He’s for a UN listing of the TRF and thinks New Delhi should be looking to put some heat on Pakistan’s intelligence arm, the ISI, rather than just dealing with individual groups.
How it’s been for Pakistan
Pakistan was on the grey list from mid-2018 to late 2022. For those four years, Islamabad had to put up with the pressure to put its house in order, be it on oversight or in prosecuting those who fund terror and act for UN-listed elements.
They were let off in October 2022 once the FATF was satisfied they had done what was asked. But if you ask Indian officials, Pakistan still needs to be kept in check and watched.
A new position for India
Vivek Aggarwal, an IAS from the Madhya Pradesh cadre and Secretary at the Culture Ministry, is the man in the hot seat as FATF Vice-President from July 2026 through to June 2027. It’s the first time India has held the post, and it gives some heft to our stance on anti-terror financing.
We’ve been in the FATF since 2010. Now we have a say in what gets done on enforcement and the like. Will we see a fresh round of questions for Pakistan? That will come down to what the evidence shows and whether the rest of the table is in agreement.
So here we are with a leadership role and a clear political test at home. Owaisi is asking how we turn this kind of promotion into something tangible when it comes to listings and terror money, be it at the FATF or the UN. All eyes in South Asia will be on us to see what happens.
