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The Foreign Ministry on Thursday said Pakistan is now officially in the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international terrorism financing watchdog, following its failure to curb terror financing on its soil.
“In February 2018, during the FATF plenary session in Paris, it was agreed that Pakistan will be included in the ‘gray list’ in June 2018,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Dr. Muhammad Faisal told a weekly press briefing in capital Islamabad.
It was also agreed, he added, that an action plan would be negotiated between Pakistan and the FATF members by June, which has now been done.
“Pakistan will work towards effective implementation of the action plan, while staying in the gray list,” he said.
Pakistan's Supreme Court on Thursday dealt a fresh blow on Thursday to the party of Nawaz Sharif, the prime minister it removed last year, by barring former privatisation minister Daniyal Aziz from contesting a general election on July 25.The ban on Aziz came just a day after an Election Commission tribunal barred the outgoing prime minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, who took over after Sharif was ousted, from standing for election in his home constituency, though he is contesting another seat in Islamabad.Sharif and his party have termed the cases and other several measures as a pre-election attempt to tip the scales in favour of opposition politician Imran Khan.Speaking to Reuters, Aziz gave a broad hint on Thursday that establishment forces - a shorthand for vested interests led by the country's powerful military - were behind his disqualification."Pakistan's history in terms of using state institutions to manage political processes are well known ... and the hope and prayer was that we had moved beyond that and the facts are before you," Aziz told Reuters.The Supreme Court had held Aziz in contempt of court for describing its removal of Sharif as politically motivated. Aziz has denied the charges, saying that he was misquoted.In the case of Abbasi, an Election Commission tribunal ruled that he had failed to declare an accurate value of his assets in his nomination papers.Abbasi denied the charges and termed the decision illegal, saying he would appeal against the ban."It is an election for the parliament. They have made it a joke," he told television news channels.Abbasi's disqualification applies only to his Murree constituency and not the Islamabad seat that he is also contesting.Under Pakistan's election rules, candidates can contest several constituencies.The rulings follow the arrest by an anti-corruption body of Qamarul Islam, another member of Sharif's Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), after he was named to contest a seat.Since his removal, Sharif has argued that the Pakistani military establishment, aided by top members of the judiciary, had orchestrated the lifetime ban on him returning to politics.Sharif is separately facing criminal charges in an anti-corruption court that could see him jailed in the coming weeks. The anti-graft body has also approved a fresh inquiry into both Abbasi and Sharif over a liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminal project.
Pakistan's top court, election panel deal fresh blows to Sharif's party
Pakistan has lifted a ban on a sectarian group leader, Muhammad Ahmed Ludhianvi, and removed him from a terrorist watchlist, the government said in an order, while the election commission would now consider whether his group can contest July polls.Ludhianvi is the leader of Ahl-e-Sunnat Wal Jamaat (ASWJ), a group with an offshoot, the Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, that has been responsible for attacks that have killed hundreds of people in Pakistan.The ASWJ has registered dozens of candidates to stand in the July 25 general election.Hasan Askari Rizvi, the chief minister of Punjab province, where the sectarian group originated, confirmed the removal of the ban on Ludhianvi and said his assets would be unfrozen and he would be free to travel."The election commission will decide today in a meeting whether his group can contest the election," Rizvi told Reuters.
Pakistan removes sectarian group leader from terrorist watchlist ahead of election
The spokesman said Pakistan was in a similar situation in 2011 when it was included in the gray list and was taken out only in 2015 after it successfully implemented an action plan.
Despite Pakistan’s best diplomatic campaign, the FATF took the decision to place Islamabad on its “gray list” in its plenary meeting on Wednesday in Paris. The move means the country will remain under direct FATF scrutiny until it gets satisfied by the measures taken to weed out terror financing and money laundering.
The 37-nation watchdog had placed Pakistan on a watch-list after Turkey, China, and Saudi Arabia opposed the U.S.-led resolution against Islamabad in February this year.
Islamabad, in recent months, did take some steps to avoid the designation, which includes, no foreign currency transactions without national tax number, and ban on currency change of up to $500 in the open currency market without submission of a national identity card copy.
In addition to that, Islamabad has also proscribed several militant groups and seized their assets, including Jamat-ud-Dawa’h -- a group blamed for 2009 deadly Mumbai attacks, which killed over 150 people.
The steps, however, could not persuade member states, especially the United States, which had not only pushed for an unprecedented second discussion on Feb. 22 but also persuaded Riyadh to withdraw its support. Riyadh’s withdrawal had left only Ankara and Beijing alongside Pakistan -- one less than the required number of three members to halt the move.