"Doing Best To Wipe Out Terrorism": Pak Army Chief After Watchdog Warning

Pakistan's Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa has said that the country is using all available sources to eliminate terrorism from its soil and is moving towards attaining sustainable peace and stability.

Speaking at the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS) in London on Friday, General Bajwa suggested that all nations must cooperate with each other in "wiping out terrorism" since it is a common enemy for all.

"We are doing our best, utilising all available sources to wipe out the enemies of peace and prosperity. It is a fact that peace and stability in South Asia was dependent on the resolution of conflicts and disputes in the region", The Nation newspaper quoted Mr Bajwa as saying

"We suggest to all countries, especially our neighbouring nations, come forward and cooperate with each other. We have suffered a lot in the past, General Bajwa said.

"Better security will pave the way for foreign investment in Pakistan and in fact, the foreign investment plays a pivotal role for regional coordination," he said in London.

The Pakistan Army Chief's comments come a day after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) directed Pakistan to "swiftly" complete its action plan to curb terror financing by October or face consequences. The warning was made in a statement issued by the financial watchdog following a plenary meeting in Orlando, US.

Pakistan is currently on the "grey list" of FATF: a list of countries that have been inadequate in curbing money laundering and terror financing. Pakistan has already missed two prior deadlines -- in January and May 2019 -- to complete their action plan.

"Pakistan should continue to work on implementing its action plan to address its strategic deficiencies. FATF expresses concern that not only did Pakistan fail to complete its action plan items with January deadlines, it also failed to complete its action plan items due May 2019," a statement issued by FATF read.