ISLAMABAD: Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi has questioned the decision of the Financial Action Task Force to continue to keep Pakistan on its grey list despite addressing 26 of the 27 items in the original 2018 action plan.
While recognising “substantial” progress made by Islamabad in addressing strategic deficiencies in its anti-money laundering or counter-terrorist financing protocols, the global terror watchdog Friday retained Pakistan on its increased monitoring list.
In a statement issued Saturday, Qureshi said there was “no room” to keep Pakistan on the list after it had implemented nearly the entire action plan, Radio Pakistan reported.
The foreign minister said it needed to be looked into whether the American-dominated agency was “being used for political purposes”, adding “some powers desire to keep the sword of FATF hanging over Pakistan.”
The Paris-based agency has in the past been accused of “focusing mostly on developing countries” and “none of the key financial centres in the world”.
“Nor are there many secrecy jurisdictions, despite the fact that some of [the countries] have serious weaknesses in their anti-money laundering regulations,” said a campaigner at Global Witness, a leading human rights organisation, in a report.
“It was yet to be determined whether the FATF was a technical forum or a political one,” Qureshi said.
He further said whatever measures the government took were in our own interests, emphasising that it was in the country’s interest to stop money laundering.
Critics of the task force argue it focuses too much on whether a country has appropriate anti-terror-finance legislation, and does not give enough attention to whether such laws are effectively implemented.
There has long been concern that the US is helping to fuel terror financing because it allows individuals to hide their identities, and illicit funds, behind companies and trusts, making it difficult for banks to know who they are dealing with.
“This loophole has allowed terrorists, organised crime and corrupt politicians access to the financial system,” said the Global Witness report.
les motifs ?
Le terrorisme émanant de votre pays et ravagent les pays voisins.
Previous Government is responsible for paki begging economy, previous are responsible for pakis in gan.f list, previous govt sole owners for shortage of kashmiri 72s, even his father and mum are cresponsible for his lesser brains…?
presently he is simply a donkey, sheep head serving his master…