New Delhi: National Security Adviser (NSA) Ajit Doval on Monday stressed the need to fight the ideology of terrorists to defeat them.

Speaking at the National Investigation Agency's (NIA) national conference of Chiefs of Anti-Terrorism Squad/Special Task Force in Delhi, Doval said that the country needs to fight against the ideology of the terrorists.

“Terrorism is nothing new. To fight terror is an abstract idea. You don't fight terror. You do so by degrading terrorists and that is done by taking his weapon, their concept,” Doval said on Monday.

Doval also said that Pakistan is under tremendous pressure from global anti-terror watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) which has warned them to act against terror groups operating within its borders.

“One of the biggest pressures that has come on Pakistan today is because of the proceedings of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), it has created so much pressure on them that probably no other action could have done,” Doval said.

“If a criminal has the support of a state, it becomes a great challenge. Some of the states have mastered this, in our case Pakistan has made it as an instrument of its state policy,” he added.

The FAFT, which is an inter-governmental body to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, has told Pakistan that it had failed to fully implement a UNSC resolution against Hafiz Saeed and other UN-designated terrorists.

Pakistan is now facing a risk of getting blacklisted by the FAFT. If the FAFT blacklists Pakistan, then they will face serious financial hardships as it will get downgraded by the International Monetary Funds (IMF) and the World Bank.

The FATF is currently headed by China and has Malaysia, Turkey as well as Saudi Arabia as its members. China, Malaysia and Turkey are most likely to vote against a downgrade for Pakistan.

At the FATF meeting, it will require a minimum of three votes to prevent blacklisting.