PAKISTAN: A report titled ‘Country Reports on Terrorism 2021’ released by the United States Department of State mentioned the many terrorist attacks in Pakistan in 2021 and that the terrorist groups gave blatant threats to the members of religious minority groups. The report also mentioned the attempts that Pakistan made to ensure counter-terror financing for militant groups that concentrated on India.
Pakistan experienced significant terrorist attacks in 2021—more than in 2020. Some of the terrorist groups that initiated attacks in Pakistan include the TTP, the Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA), and the ISIS-K. They use IEDs, VBIEDs, suicide bombings, and targeted killings as tactics.
Pakistan revised its 2015 National Action Plan (NAP) to combat terrorism, reducing it from a 20-point plan to a 14-point plan, but there were visible efforts to dismantle terrorist organisations as quickly as possible and without bias.
A notable journalist was killed in an explosion in Hub, Balochistan, by a bomb that was attached to his vehicle, as BLA claimed that it was responsible for the attack.
Pakistan prosecuted Jaish-e-Mohammed, its founder Masood Azhar, and JeM leader Abdul Rauf Azhar in September on grounds related to terrorism. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in 2018, considered Pakistan as a jurisdiction with limited workings of the AML/CFT systems, putting it on the FATF grey list in 2021.
Pakistan faced tremendous money laundering and terrorist financing risks as a member of the Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering. Funds were raised by the UN-listed groups that were moved through formal as well as informal channels.
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