Lawfare and Countering Terror Finance

Abstract

In very broad terms Lawfare can be defined as the theory and practice of using international law as an instrument to advance one‘s interest. These could primarily be advanced by entities in the international system, entities such as 1) states 2) it could be commercial entities 3) it could be certain NGOs, which use states as fronts. It is not just restricted now to state entities alone, it is inclusive of all the other entities in the international system to bear respective advantage. When observing what is been happening in the last 10 years, Pakistan has been a subject of many Lawfare strategies, whether it is strategic litigation, strategic recourse to international courts and tribunals against Pakistan by other states or adversaries. This study aims to investigate the most recent manifestation of Lawfare i.e., FATF (Financial Action Task Force) used against Pakistan, which issues the pressing narrative of Pakistan hosting Terrorism and Terrorism financing. The study intends to assess how Pakistan‘s state rhetoric and tactic is responding to this form of economic Lawfare. Through the lens of State responsibility and Lawfare as a preventive security method, the following research aims to determine the significance of Pakistan‘s need to adopt such strategies as a tool kit.