New Delhi:
The diplomatic measures against Pakistan in the aftermath of the Pahalgam massacre has picked up again with New Delhi requesting the Asian Development Bank or ADI to discontinue financial support to Pakistan. Sources said Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman took up the matter with ADB chief Masato Kanda at a recent meeting.
The minister, who is in Italy’s Milan for the 58th annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank, has already discussed the issue with her Italian counterpart and is engaging with several European nations, sources said.
As of 2024, the Asian Development Bank’s sovereign portfolio in Pakistan comprises 53 loans and 3 grants totalling $9.13 billion.
India is also pushing for Pakistan’s inclusion in the Financial Action Task Force grey list while calling for a review of multilateral funding flows to Islamabad, sources said. This particular action is taken against countries that are lacking in measures to counter money laundering or terrorism.
Nations named in the grey list are subject to greater scrutiny, which hits foreign investments there. It also curtails their financial access.
Earlier today, Moody’s Ratings said the stand-off with India could be a setback for Pakistan as its forex reserves could come under pressure and weigh on its growth.
This is the second tranche of action against Pakistan. Shortly after the April 22 attack in which 26 people were shot dead in Kashmir’s Pahalgam, India took a series of diplomatic measures that included putting a freeze on the Indus water treaty, shutting the Attari border and cancelling visas of Pakistan nationals.
Union Defence minister Rajnath Singh has hinted about a third, saying what people desire “will certainly happen,”
“As the defence minister, it is my responsibility to work with my soldiers and ensure the protection of the country’s borders. And it is my responsibility to give a befitting reply, by working with the armed forces, to those who cast an evil eye on our country,” Mr Singh said.
India has identified five terrorists, three of them Pakistani nationals, behind the massacre.