Pakistan has not complied with six key FATF obligations, Indian sources said.
New Delhi:
India expects Pakistan to remain on the “gray list” of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog with not only more than 4,000 terrorists missing from its records, but the country will also give a pass to two of the New Delhi’s most wanted terrorists: Maulana Masood Azhar and Hafiz Saeed, government sources said on Sunday.
“Since 4,000 terrorists disappeared from their 1V program. The FATF (Financial Action Task Force) will not allow Pakistan to get off the gray list,” a senior bureaucrat told NDTV.
According to him, Pakistan has also failed to fulfill six key obligations. “The FATF had given Pakistan a total of 27 action plan obligations to fully control terrorist financing, of which it has so far approved 21 but failed in some of the key tasks,” he said.
Four nominated countries, the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany, are also not completely satisfied with the fulfillment of Pakistan’s wishes in Afghanistan and this will also work against the country, he added.
“These four countries are not satisfied with Islamabad’s commitment to cracking down on terrorist groups operating from its soil,” the official said.
The FATF is to host a virtual plenary between October 21 and 23. The meeting will take a final call on Pakistan’s continuation on the gray list after a comprehensive review of Islamabad’s performance in meeting global commitments and standards on the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing.
Masood Azhar, Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi are the most wanted terrorists in India for their involvement in various terrorist attacks, including the Mumbai attack on 11/26 and the CRPF bus bombing in Pulwama in Jammu and Kashmir last year.
As Pakistan remains on the gray list, it has become increasingly difficult for it to obtain financial help from the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union, exacerbating the problems of the country with liquidity problems.
The FATF will also judge whether the competent authorities in Pakistan were taking sufficient measures against illegal money or value transfer services and have restricted the entry points used for illegal financing.
The FATF plenary was scheduled for June, but Pakistan had an unexpected respite after the global watchdog against financial crime temporarily postponed all assessments and follow-up deadlines in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The watchdog also put a general pause in the review process, thus giving Pakistan an additional four months to comply with the requirements.
To avoid the blacklist, it needs the support of three countries and has had the constant support of China, Turkey and Malaysia to bypass the label. Currently, North Korea and Iran are on the FATF blacklist. Pakistan needs 12 votes out of 39 to get off the gray list and go on the white list.
Pakistan was included on the gray list by the FATF in June 2018 and received an action plan to complete it in October 2019. Since then, the country has continued on that list due to its non-compliance with the FATF mandates.
The FATF is an intergovernmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats related to the integrity of the international financial system.
The FATF currently has 39 members, including two regional organizations: the European Commission and the Gulf Cooperation Council.
India is a member of the FATF consultations and its Asia Pacific Group.
.
