A fresh Financial Action Task Force (FATF) report threw light on a 2020 case involving Pakistan’s missile development programme, bringing renewed global attention to Islamabad’s proliferation activities. The report highlights how dual-use goods, critical for ballistic missile production, were mis-declared in shipping documents and traced back to Pakistan’s National Development Complex (NDC).
The cargo, intercepted by Indian customs at Kandla port in February 2020, originated from China’s Jiangyin port and was headed for Port Qasim in Karachi. The consignment included a large autoclave, a type of industrial equipment used in manufacturing missile motor components and high-energy materials.
“The sensitive items are included in dual-use export control lists of the Missile Technology Control Regime, India, and other jurisdictions. The Bill of Lading of the seized cargo provided evidence of the link between the importer and the National Development Complex, which is involved in the development of long-range ballistic missiles,” the FATF report titled, ‘Complex Proliferation Financing and Sanctions Evasion Schemes’, stated.
On state-sponsored terror and proliferation financing
This revelation comes amid increasing FATF attention on state-supported terrorism financing, especially following the April 22 terror attack in Pahalgam, Kashmir, which killed 26 people, most of them tourists.
In a public statement, FATF condemned the attacks and said, “This, and other recent attacks, could not occur without money and the means to move funds between terrorist supporters.”
The watchdog’s report also raises alarm over proliferation financing (PF) risks, warning that state and non-state actors acquiring dual-use technology for weapons of mass destruction (WMD) remain a significant global threat.
“The proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and related financing represents a significant threat to global security and the integrity of the international financial system,” FATF noted.
India might use findings to push for Pak’s FATF grey listing
According to sources cited by PTI, India plans to include the FATF's findings in an upcoming dossier to strengthen its case for Pakistan’s return to the FATF grey list. The issue is expected to be raised at the Asia Pacific Group (APG) meeting in August and again at the FATF plenary in October.
Indian officials view the explicit mention of state-sponsored terror and proliferation in the FATF report as a major diplomatic advantage. A senior official told PTI that Pakistan’s strategic misuse of trade routes and false documentation demonstrates a pattern of proliferation behavior that must be sanctioned.
Chinese ship under scrutiny
The ship at the center of the 2020 incident, a Hong Kong-flagged vessel named Da Cui Yun, was acting suspiciously according to Indian intelligence. Upon inspection, customs authorities uncovered a 35–40-foot-long pressure chamber, described as resembling a giant pipe, now confirmed to have ballistic missile applications.
Due to the national security stakes, Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) experts were immediately brought in to assist the high-level probe. Officials maintained silence at the time, citing the sensitive nature of the investigation.
