Pakistan was placed on the ‘grey list’ by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as the inter-governmental body was not convinced with Islamabad’s various executive orders issued since January 2018 to curb terror financing and seize of 60-plus bank accounts of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and around 200 properties of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF).
The FATF plenary wanted Pakistan to act on all UN-designated terrorist entities, including LeT, JuD, FIF, Al Qaeda, Daesh, Taliban and the Haqqani network, it was learned.
Pakistan will now be required to complete an action plan comprising 26 points on various regulatory, legal and enforcement issues. It has 15 months until September 2019 to do so, though a review will be conducted every three months by the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of the Asia-Pacific Group of the FATF.
While Pakistan is not a member of the FATF, its finance minister Shamshad Akhtar is learned to have made a very positive and cooperative speech at the Plenary in Paris, held between June 27 and 29, to accept the Action Plan.
With a review of Pakistan’s actions on strengthening its regulatory, legal and enforcement frameworks to curb terror financing to be taken by FATF every three months, there is an assessment in the Indian security establishment that things could change dramatically on the ground.
On her part, Akhtar is learnt to have underlined at the FATF meet that Pakistan respects its standards, with Islamabad strongly committed to implementation of the Action Plan.
India has insisted while Pakistan has put in place regulatory framework to curb terror financing, it has been rather reluctant to enforce it. Not only this, it has failed to crack down on terrorist leaders like LeT chief Hafiz Saeed.
India hails task force move
India welcomed FATF placing Pakistan on its grey list and hoped Islamabad would take credible measures to address international concerns on terrorism emanating from its territory.
“We hope that the FATF Action plan shall be complied with in a time-bound manner and credible measures would be taken by Pakistan to address global concerns related to terrorism emanating from any territory under its control,” MEA spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.
Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), on Wednesday grey-listed Pakistan for its failure to act against terrorism, including financing.
Pakistan avoided the far graver ‘black list’ by agreeing to comply with a 26-point action plan formulated by the International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) of the Asia Pacific Group of the FATF.
India has been seeking global action against Pakistan for allowing terror safe havens in its territory, and has asked Islamabad to punish the LeT terrorists involved in the 2008 Mumbai attacks as well as others. But there has been no progress.
“Pakistan has given a high-level political commitment to address the global concerns regarding its implementation of the FATF standards for countering terror-financing and antimoney laundering, especially in respect of UN-designated and internationally proscribed terror entities and individuals. “The freedom and impunity with which designated terrorists like Hafiz Saeed and entities like Jamaat-Ud-Dawa, Lashkar-e-Toiba and Jaishe-Mohammed continue to operate in Pakistan is not in keeping with such commitments,” Kumar said. ( From Times of India, July 1, 2018)