This was mainly due to Pakistan not addressing 6 points, one of which relates to action against UNSC banned terrorists as Masood Azhar, in its 27-point action plan to control terrorist financing. The agency described as “serious deficiencies” the fact that Pakistan had not yet complied with these points, even when it concluded that Islamabad had made progress on its entire plan of action by addressing “largely” 21 points.
The agency urged Pakistan to “quickly complete” its action plan by February next year, as all the action plan deadlines had already expired.
“While Pakistan has made progress, it needs to do more and cannot stop now,” FATF President Marcus Pleyer said after the Paris-based agency’s plenary meeting.
Most of the remaining 6 issues are related to terrorist financing. Importantly for India, the FATF called on Pakistan to address its strategic deficiencies by demonstrating the effective implementation of financial penalties against all terrorists designated by UN 1267 and 1373 and those who act for or on their behalf, preventing the collection and movement of funds, including in relation to NPOs (non-profit organizations), identifying and freezing assets (movable and immovable ), and prohibiting access to funds and financial services.
India had said on Thursday that Pakistan continued to provide a safe haven for terrorists and had not acted against people like Masood Azhar. Dawood Ibrahim Y Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, all outlawed by the UNSC.
When asked if Pakistan could be blacklisted if it did not meet the February deadline, Pleyer said the agency gives countries the opportunity to address issues as long as they show progress in addressing the action plan. and may Pakistan deserve equal treatment. “It is after that that they are blacklisted,” the official said, suggesting that the deadline may not be indefinite.
According to the official, the agency could send a team to Pakistan for an on-site assessment if Islamabad can address the remaining 6 points by February 2021. If the assessment is positive, the FATF could consider removing Pakistan from the gray list.
The agency also asked Pakistan to work on the implementation of its action plan by demonstrating that its law enforcement agencies are identifying and investigating the widest range of terrorist financing activities and that investigations and prosecutions are aimed at designated individuals and entities, and those acting on behalf or at the direction of designated individuals or entities.
It called on Pakistan to demonstrate that terrorist financing prosecutions result in effective, proportionate and “dissuasive” sanctions and to ensure the implementation of violations, including in relation to NPOs, of administrative and criminal sanctions and cooperation of the provincial and federal authorities in execution cases.
The agency simultaneously acknowledged that since June 2018, when Pakistan made a high-level political commitment to address its strategic deficiencies related to terrorist financing, its “continuing political commitment” had led to progress in several areas of its action plan.
This included actions to identify and sanction illegal STDVs (money or value transfer services), implement cross-border currency controls and BNI (bearer negotiable instruments), and enhance international cooperation in terrorist financing cases.
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