Paris: Problems have increased for Pakistan, who has failed to fulfil the other important criteria set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). FATF announced that Pakistan would be retained in the Grey List, accusing it of lack of policy decisions and inability to perform relevant actions. Therefore, Pakistan will remain in the FATF Grey List for the next four months. The FATF issued a stern warning that Pakistan will be pushed into the Black List if it fails to comply with all the criteria. Only Turkey voted in Pakistan’s favour in the FATF meeting.
The FATF meeting was being held in Paris since the last three days to review the actions taken by Pakistan to stop terror funding and money laundering. India also was keenly following whether Pakistan is retained in the Grey List or pushed in the Black List. The analysts had already claimed that it would not be easy for Pakistan to get out of the Grey List because of its failure to comply with the FATF criteria. Therefore, FATF was to announce its decision in the final meeting on Friday.
As per the information given by Marcus Player, the President of this organisation, 27 criteria had been prescribed for Pakistan, and Pakistan has not fulfilled six of them. Pakistan has failed to initiate any action against Jaish-e-Mohammed Chief Masood Azhar, Lashkar-e-Taiba Chief Hafeez Saeed and Commander Lakhwi, who have been declared as international terrorists by the United Nations. These two international terrorists were involved in the 26/11 Mumbai terror attacks and attack on the CRPF convoy in Pulwama. Player reminded that along with failure to act against them, there are some more criteria which have not been fulfilled by Pakistan.
Player pointed out that Pakistan has started work on 21 criteria. Therefore, Pakistan will remain in the FATF Grey List until February 2021. But player lambasted that before that, an act of imposing sanctions against those involved in terror funding from Pakistan is necessitated and Pakistan has to stop funding terrorism. At the same time, a question was asked in the FATF meeting, how four thousand names disappeared from the list of 7,600 names.
Pakistan needed 12 out of 39 member votes to get out of the Grey List. It was being said that Pakistan has majorly rallied to garner this support. It was also criticised that Pakistan leaders begged with Turkey, China, Saudi Arabia and Malaysia along with China for their votes. But Pakistan needed complete support from three countries to avoid inclusion in the Black List. But Pakistan failed to get these three votes too. Turkey supported Pakistan to the end on this front. Whereas China and Saudi Arabia momentarily supported Pakistan, citing technical issues.
Now FATF has given Pakistan time till February 2021, and Pakistan must fulfil all the criteria in these four months. After fulfilment of the requirements, the FATF observers will visit Pakistan and satisfy themselves about this and then decide regarding Pakistan’s future. But as Pakistan will remain in the Grey List of FATF till then, it has become difficult for Pakistan to get financial assistance from the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the European Union.
Meanwhile, the Pakistan ministers are making a strange claim that the FATF decision is a victory for Pakistan. Some leaders and analysts from Pakistan are also expressing happiness on the Indian failure to get Pakistan included in the FATF Black List.
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