FATF notes Pakistan's actions against terrorism haven't been enough
The global-watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) gave Pakistan months to act strongly against terrorism, but the country failed to do so. Unimpressed by Imran Khan-led government, the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) of FATF on Monday said Islamabad didn't take concrete action against terror groups like Jaish-e-Mohammed and Lashkar-e-Taiba as well as their respective bosses Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed. Here are more details.
Pakistan has been on FATF's grey-list for months now
In 2018, FATF, an intergovernmental body established in 1989, put Pakistan on its grey-list. The body is tasked with keeping a check on terror financing and once a country is blacklisted, it faces immense trouble in procuring foreign funds. Notably, FATF will meet between October 13 and 18 in Paris to decide Pakistan's fate. Obviously, the cash-strapped country simply can't afford to get blacklisted.
FATF gave Pakistan 40 recommendations, it ignored several of them
On Saturday, APG published its much-awaited 228-page 'Mutual Evaluation Report' and it didn't have amazing things to say about Pakistan. Out of the 40 points on which Pakistan was supposed to take action, it was found fully compliant on only one and largely compliant on just nine. It remained partially compliant on 26 recommendations and completely ignored four others.
Take a look at what the report read
"Pakistan has not taken sufficient measures to fully implement UNSCR 1267 obligations against all listed individuals and entities - especially those associated with Lashkar (LeT)/Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD), and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF)," the report added.
Pakistan allowed terror groups to operate freely: APG
Further, the report added that FIF and JuD were allowed to function openly in Pakistan, despite the designation of the UNSC. "Numerous Pakistani media reports showed FIF raising funds ostensibly for humanitarian relief, as well as operating a large ambulance fleet, which calls into question whether the prohibition on providing funds and financial services was being fully implemented," the report stated.
Apparently, Pakistan's regulators "don't know" much about terror financing
In what serves as a major embarrassment for Pakistan, APG underscored that regulators like State Bank of Pakistan and the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, have little idea about how terror financing works. "Competent authorities have varying levels of understanding of the country's money laundering and terror financing risks, and the private sector has a mixed understanding of risks," it went on.
However, Pakistan might not get blacklisted this time
It's important to note that while Pakistan has faltered on several fronts, it could be "saved" from the blacklist, courtesy support from China, Turkey, and Malaysia. Apparently, the support of at least three nations is essential to avoid being blacklisted. India, however, has been pushing for Pakistan's blacklisting saying the country has been breeding notorious individuals that indulge in cross-border terrorism.
