EDITORIAL: In its much awaited decision the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) while acknowledging that Pakistan has made progress across all items, largely addressing 21 of the 27 of the anti-money laundering and combating financing of terrorism (AML/CFT), elected to keep Pakistan on its increased monitoring list, the so-called 'grey list' for another four months. Responding to a question, president of the Paris-based international watchdog, Dr Marcus Pleyer, explained that Pakistan has never been on the blacklist - something India has been trying hard to achieve-but on the grey list, and based on its completion of action on 21 out of 27 items, the country could be viewed as "safe." Yet, he warned, the six remaining items entail serious consequences.
That FATF decisions, by and large, are influenced by political considerations is obvious from the fact that it placed Pakistan on its grey list in June 2018 citing 'deficiencies' in this country's AML/CFT regime nudged in that direction by India with the support of the US, UK and some other Western countries. It is hardly a coincident that the six outstanding items that carry serious risks for Pakistan echo Indian claims. These include demands that Pakistan ensure its terror financing (TF) investigations and prosecutions target designated persons and entities and those acting on behalf of or on the directive of the designated persons or entities; address strategic deficiencies by demonstrating that TF prosecutions result in effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions; demonstrate effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all designated terrorists under UNSC resolutions and those acting for or on their behalf, preventing the raising and moving of funds including in relation to no-profit organisations (NPOs), identifying and freezing of their assets and prohibiting access to fund and financial service; and enforcement against targeted financial sanctions violations, including in relation to NPOs of administrative and criminal penalties and provincial and federal authorities cooperation on enforcement cases.
Those intent on putting this country on the spot may have some ulterior motives but compliance with FATF conditions is in Pakistan's own interest. The recently enacted AML/CFT laws help it stop foreign funding to various violent sectarian outfits. In fact, had they been in place earlier the opposition leaders would not be crying foul, accusing the government of leveling against them trumped up charges of corruption and money laundering. Similarly, although the government has been following through on its resolve to hold to account all those on the UNSC list of suspected terrorists, the FATF pressure gives a fillip to its efforts. That it needs to do for the sake of its own peace and security. Nevertheless, the states - other than India which has its own scores to settle with this country - now shaking their finger at Pakistan are not as principled as they pretend to be. Financial transactions involving tax evasion and drug money hurting the big players are prohibited, but developing countries' corrupt leaders are happily allowed to park their ill-gotten money in their banks or buy assets. Prime Minister Imran Khan recently called on the international community to take steps to counter such illicit flows of money, making the perfectly legitimate demand that stolen assets of developing countries must be returned. Let Western nations clean up their own act, too.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2020
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