Pakistan to be Blacklisted for Terror Funding by 2020 Says Terror Funding Watchdog FATF

Global terror funding watchdog FATF has given Pakistan, a fresh deadline of February 2020 to act against terror funding or else suffer 100% possibility of a formal blacklisting, according to Indian officials, who are attending the agency’s five-day plenary in Paris.

Pakistan, at present, is in the ‘grey list’ of the countries whose domestic laws are considered weak to tackle the challenges of money laundering and terror financing. The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has thus made it clear that it will take a final and strict decision on Pakistan’s position by February next year.

The FATF has found that Pakistan was able to address only five out of 27 actionable items, which initiate terror fundings. The terror-funding watchdog also said there was a consensus on retaining Pakistan in the grey list based on its poor performance on the 27-point Action Plan.

On the last day of the meeting, FATF said on Friday, “Strongly urge Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2020, otherwise should significant and sustainable progress not be made across the full range of its action plan by next Plenary, the FATF will take action including urging members to advise their financial institutions to give special attention to business relations and transactions with Pakistan”.

The five days meeting of the agency was attended by representatives from 205 countries of the world, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations, the World Bank and other organisations. At the meeting China, Turkey and Malaysia had reportedly supported Pakistan. A country needs the support of at least three other countries to avoid being blacklisted, that’s why it survived this time.

India and other member countries of the FATF have also charged Pakistan for failing to take concrete action against Hafiz Saeed, Maulana Masood Azhar and other UN-designated terrorists, pointing out that the country’s anti-terror law still remains is not in accordance with the standards set by the international body.

In June last year, Pakistan was placed on the ‘grey list’ by the FATF and was asked to complete a plan of action by October 2019 or face the risk of being blacklisted.

If Pakistan continues to remain on the ‘grey list’, it would be very difficult for Pakistan to get any kind of financial aid from the World Bank, the IMF and the European Union, making its financial condition even worse. Now, Islamabad also has to report its performance to the agency every three months.

Earlier this month, Ajit Doval, India’s National Security Advisor had also made it public that Islamabad is under severe pressure from the anti-terror agency to crack down on the terror groups operating from its territory.

The FATF is an inter-governmental organisation, established in the year 1989 to combat money laundering, terror financing and other related problems that are a threat to the integrity of the international financial system. Iran and North Korea are the only countries, which are blacklisted by the agency so far.