Malik Ashraf
PRIME Minister Imran Khan reacting to the rejection of Anti-Money Laundering Bill and Islamabad Capital Territory Waqf Properties Bill, which were earlier passed by the National Assembly, in a series of tweets has lashed at the opposition saying “From day one I have maintained that the self-serving interests of the opposition leaders and the country are divergent. As accountability noose has tightened, the opposition leaders have become desperate to save their corrupt money by trying to prevent parliament from functioning; by seeking to undermine government’s effective Covid-19 strategy and now by trying to sabotage Pakistan’s efforts to exit FATF grey list” He also said that opposition would be responsible if Pakistan was pushed into the blacklist.
While his contentions about opposition acting inimical to the interests of the country are debatable his tweets do indicate the urgency and the need to have Pakistan winched out of the grey list of FATF. Pakistan must get out of FATF’s grey list by complying with the 13 outstanding benchmarks for fool proof arrangements against money laundering and terror financing. The FATF postponed its review session scheduled for 21-26 June till October this year, which gave yet another four months to remove all discrepancies pointed out by FATF during its last review session held in February early this year.
In case Pakistan fails to come up to the expectations of FATF there is a possibility of her being downgraded to the black list or even kept on the grey list for an extended period. In both cases it would be very harmful for Pakistan as it would have very serious economic repercussions for the country. It would jeopardize Pakistan’s efforts to get financial support from the international lending agencies for financing its economic reform agenda and putting the country on the road to a sustained economic growth besides political implication on the global level. Pakistan surely has very high stake in getting out of the grey list and as such the passage of the anti-money laundering legislation and those preventing terrorist financing is absolutely imperative. It is therefore advisable for the government and the opposition parties to give serious thought to the issue to protect vital national interests. Politics can wait for better times.
It is pertinent to point out that inclusion of Pakistan in the grey list of the FATF also has political overtones. Pakistan was put on the grey list by FATF in June 2018 as a result of the US resolution supported by its allies and other countries. Placing Pakistan on the grey list was surely a political move by US with a view to keeping Pakistan under pressure. It was very much expected in the backdrop of the nosedive in relations between Pakistan and USA after the announcement of the new Policy on South Asia and Afghanistan by President Donald Trump and its outright rejection by Pakistan. It was the most unfortunate development in view of the fact that Pakistan which had been the US ally since early fifties and had suffered the most in the war against terrorism remained a suspect in the eyes of the latter in regards to its indiscriminate action against the terrorist outfits.
Pakistan had also taken all possible administrative and legal measures to check and block the sources of funding to the terrorist organizations. It had already promulgated a Presidential Ordinance to amend the anti-terror legislation in order to include all UN-listed individuals and groups in the national listings of proscribed outfits and persons. Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP) also took measures in keeping with the FATF regulations and issued Anti-Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Regulations 2018. The government had also chalked out a comprehensive plan to eradicate terrorist financing which was shared with the international watch-dog. The FATF decision was reflective of the US rhetoric of do more. It was also indicative of how much influence US could exercise on world bodies like FATF.
However the kink in the relations between the two countries disappeared in the backdrop of Pakistan facilitating dialogue between US and Taliban, a role acknowledged and appreciated by President Trump and his Administration. It was due to this development that despite best Indian efforts during the Beijing and Paris meetings Pakistan could avoid being pushed into the blacklist because no member of the FATF including US and EU supported the Indian view. The outcome of these moots represented a major blow to the Indian diplomatic efforts to penalize Pakistan. However, Pakistan was not taken out of the grey list but was given another chance to fully comply with action plans given by FATF by June 2020.
In the October review meeting Pakistan besides meeting the given targets would also require diplomatic support for coming out of the grey list. According to the FATF regulations a country needs at least 3 votes for not being relegated to the black list and at least 12 votes for up-gradation to the white list. The FATF has 39 members. In view of recalibration of relations between US and Pakistan and the concrete and credible steps taken by Pakistan ever since placement in the grey list and positive vibes emanating from the Beijing and Paris meetings it could be genuinely hoped that things would have a positive outcome when Pakistan gets the chance in October to present its case before the FATF.
— The writer is freelance columnist based in Islamabad.
