Pakistan Economy may slash more: The FATF has sufficient proof to blacklist Pakistan
New Delhi: The government of Pakistan may face more financial crises in the nation as the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has sufficient proofs to blacklist Pakistan. The Economy of Pakistan may slash more in the future if FATF will take strict action against the Imran Khan government.
As per the 2019 IMF deal, the Imran Khan government had agreed to the formal mention of money laundering in the document, thus linking IMF tranches directly to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Pakistan, which is on the grey list of the FATF since 2018, was given three months’ time in June this year to fulfill the remaining conditions by October.
The FATF plenary will be held in Paris from October 19-21.
According to the latest report “Terrorist and Other Militant Groups in Pakistan” of US Congressional on terrorism say that “At least 12 groups designated as ‘foreign terrorist organizations by the US are based in Pakistan, including five that are India-centric. As per the US administration, Islamabad continues to remain a base of operations for numerous non-state militant groups, many with global reach.”
The US State Department on the report prepared by the US Congressional said that “Pakistan remained a safe haven for terrorism despite claims to the contrary. Despite promises made to the international community about taking action against terrorist groups, Pakistan has not taken any action against terrorist groups and their sanctuaries,”
“Last week, the Biden administration downgraded the bilateral relationship with Pakistan for playing a double game in the fight against terrorism. On the one hand, Pakistan was supposed an ally of the US in the “war on terror”. But simultaneously, it was helping the Taliban take over Afghanistan. Since the Taliban came into power in mid-August, Pakistan has been publicly talking about the future recognition of the Taliban government, which has close ties to Pakistan’s powerful military intelligence services, the ISI,” Says the Report.
The report further suggests that Pakistan has become a classic hybrid state with the military and militants influencing the state and its actions.
The former US National Security Advisor H R McMaster told a US congressional hearing that the US should hold Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accountable for some of his comments after the fall of Kabul in August and that Pakistan should be confronted broadly with international isolation because of its “support for jihadist terrorists”.
According to the senior Pakistani Journalist, Washington has always seen Pakistan as the key sponsor of the Taliban. Its insistence on asking Pakistan to control the Haqqanis has created a lot of complications for Islamabad.
During an interview with Israel media, Fabien Baussart, the founder and President of the think-tank Centre of Political and Foreign Affairs said that “FATF must also put on record evidence collated by various countries of Pakistan’s role in helping a militant group, the Taliban, from overthrowing an elected government in Afghanistan. Pakistan’s association with global terrorist outfits such as the Haqqani Network, known for hosting groups like Al Qaeda, needs to be brought on record.”
“FATF will fail in its duty if it delays blacklisting Pakistan for its terrorist sponsorship,” warns Baussart. In the last meeting held in June, the FATF decided to continue keeping Pakistan on its grey list.
(_Vinayak Barot)
