FOREIGN POLICY/CHINA/PAKISTAN/SAUDI ARABIA/TURKEY/TRUMP AS PRESIDENT: “Saudi Arabia joined Turkey and China in a move to block a U.S.-led attempt this week to place Pakistan on an international terror-financing watch list, according to officials involved in the process, in a rare disagreement between Riyadh and the Trump administration.
Saudi Arabia’s move on behalf of Pakistan came just days after Islamabad said it would send more than 1,000 troops to the Gulf kingdom, which has expanded its military posture in the region since its 2015 intervention in Yemen’s civil war.
A U.S. effort to reverse the decision on the watch list was under way Wednesday [2-21-18] at a meeting in Paris of the Financial Action Task Force, a secretive international body that monitors countries’ efforts to fight terror financing and money-laundering, according to the officials involved in the process.
The officials said the U.S. effort, which included pressure on the Saudis, raised the possibility of a fresh vote on action against Pakistan as soon as Thursday. The Pakistanis were scrambling to shore up support.
The Trump administration, angry with what it sees as inadequate efforts by Islamabad to combat terror groups, has sought to ratchet up pressure on Pakistan. Last month it said it was withholding $2 billion in security aid until it sees much stronger action against militants. U.S. officials also accuse Pakistan’s military of supporting some jihadist groups as proxies against neighboring India and Afghanistan.
Pakistan denies those accusations and says there are no terrorist sanctuaries within its territory.”
-Saeed Shah and Ian Talley, “Saudi Arabia Stymies U.S. Over Pakistan Terror List,” The Wall Street Journal online, Feb. 21, 2018 07:54pm