The column treats Shehbaz Sharif’s UNGA line—that Pakistani militants would otherwise be in New York or London—as FATF theater before the Oct. 26–30 plenary, citing a bounty rise on Masood Azhar from 2 million to 7 million rupees and a past 2018–22 grey-listing.

It argues U.S. influence, Trump–Munir ties, and possible lobbying (a claimed $600,000 a month around Operation Sindoor) make another grey-list unlikely, and that FATF’s Pahalgam note did not name Pakistan.

The author’s forecast is a post-plenary rise in activity in Jammu and Kashmir, with Jaishankar’s UNGA remarks as Delhi’s warning; kinetic and non-kinetic “deterrents” are urged as opinion, not as evidence of a decided campaign.

In his UNGA address last month, Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif asserted that “Had these terrorists [in Pakistan] not been encountered by us, they would have been roaming on the streets of New York and London and God knows, the Far East.” He also attempted to portray Islamabad as a global “bulwark” against terrorism.

It appears that Sharif was well aware that his claims of waging a war against terror in all its forms and manifestations would find no takers. Why else would he have placed a cheering team in the gallery for repeatedly interrupting his uninspiring statements by its continuous applause in response to hand signals given by Pakistani Information Minister Attaullah Tarar?

Anti Grey-Listing Ploys

However, Sharif wouldn’t have been unduly upset as this message was for the international money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog, Financial Action Task Force [FATF]. With its next Plenary and Working Group meetings scheduled from October 26 to 30th, Islamabad is [like always] busy putting up appearances and cleaning up its backyard to escape being ‘grey-listed’.

To impress FATF, Pakistan has recently increased the bounty for any........

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