Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi has said that there is “no room” to continue keeping Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Forcesor ‘s (FATF) greylist despite knowing full well that the country has been able to satisfy 26 out of 27 of its action plan points. Therefore, room for exactly one condition to keep Pakistan on the greylist exists. The FM alleges that the FATF is being “used for political purposes” with some powers having a desire to keep Pakistan in the greylist. This may be true to an extent, but there is a limit to the damage countries like India can do as full-fledged members of the FATF while Pakistan has support from allies like Turkey and China, both of whom are prominent members as well.
While there is no doubt that Pakistan has come a long way since it was first placed on the greylist three years ago by passing legislation to curb terror financing and money laundering, it still remains unable to effectively implement the FATF’s standards. One major challenge is the unavailability of competent people in law enforcement agencies to investigate, prosecute and seize ill-gotten money that is used to finance terror. A lack of training and funding is one problem while rampant corruption, political inference and an excruciatingly slow-moving judicial system is another. The final condition that remains to be met, that of taking meaningful legal action against leaders of UN-designated terror groups, around 1373 individuals, is difficult to achieve with these inherent deficiencies in the system. Comments made by PM’s Advisor on Accountability & Interior Shahzad Akbar, stating that Pakistan remains in the greylist due to ‘Shehbaz Sharif’s money laundering’, a case which seems to be politically motivated and where allegations are yet to be proven, is an irresponsible and ludicrous statement that takes away from the seriousness of the matter at hand.
Six more deliverables have now been added to the last remaining objective, making the task of getting off the greylist more difficult. The government continues to focus all its energy on putting as many of its political opponents behind bars as fast as it can, while legal action against terrorists remains subdued at best. If this remains the case, getting back on that coveted whitelist will be close to impossible.
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