Fearing FATF, Pakistan amends Anti-terror law to ban UN-listed terror groups

Pakistan has secretly amended the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 to ban the United Nations proscribed terrorist groups, reported local media.

According to Pakistani media reports, President Mamnoon Hussain last Friday quietly promulgated an ordinance seeking to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act.

“The ordinance amends Sections 11-B and 11-EE of Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997 (XXVII of 1997). Section 11-B sets out parameters for proscription of groups, whereas 11-EE describes the grounds for listing of individuals,” the Dawn News reported.

The new amendments will allow Pakistan to put terror groups listed under the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1948, in the list of proscribed groups.

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The move is likely to clear the air on the longstanding ambiguity over the status of 2008 Mumbai attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaatud Dawa (JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF).

The move has come a week before the six-day multi-national Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting in Paris where Pakistan is likely to be “grey-listed” for money-laundering and terror-financing.

Earlier in November last year, FATF at its plenary in Buenos Aires had asked Pakistan provide a compliance report on actions taken against Lashkar-e-Taiba and JuD at Paris meeting.

FATF maintains a grey and blacklist that identifies countries supporting money laundering and terror financing. Pakistan had been on the grey list of FATF for three years from 2012 to 2015.