Massive Blow For Imran Khan: Pakistan Stays On FATF Grey List For Now, Gets Final 'Blacklisting' Ultimatum At Paris Meet

In a massive diplomatic victory for India, terror finance watchdog FATF gave final 'blacklisting' ultimatum to Pakistan at Paris meet on Friday. This means that Pakistan will continue to remain on the grey list. The group has given four months to Islamabad to get its act together. Except Turkey, no other member of the group backed Pakistan. According to a report by The Hindustan Times, all member nations of the FATF demanded Pakistan to put ‘serious efforts’ on terror crackdown. The June ultimatum means that in case Pakistan is unable to meet the FATF guidelines, it will move to the ‘blacklist’.

Out of 27 action points, the FATF found that Pakistan had performed poorly on 13 points. Now, the FATF has given an 8-point guideline to Pakistan that must be strictly adhered to by the Imran Khan government to avoid the blacklist. At present, there are only two nations that have been blacklisted by the FATF. Those nations are – Iran and North Korea.

In runup to the FATF meet, Pakistan had announced several measures to meet the action points. Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed's sentencing was seen as part of the effort. India had questioned the timing of the court order.

“We have seen media reports that a court in Pakistan has sentenced UN designated and internationally proscribed terrorist Hafiz Saeed in terror financing case. It is part of a long pending international obligation of Pakistan to put an end to support for terrorism,” MEA sources had said. Pointing to the timing of the development, sources said that, “the decision has been made on the eve of FATF Plenary meeting, which has to be noted. Hence, the efficacy of this decision remains to be seen.”

Pakistan had submitted a 650-page review report to the FATF on January 8. The report was submitted in response to 150 questions raised by the FATF regarding new Pakistani policies on money laundering.

According to the ruling of the FATF, Pakistan needs to fulfil its tasks under 27-point action plan. Last January, Pakistan had claimed that it had made credible efforts on 14 points.

During the review, it was found that Islamabad needed to work towards 13 points. On February 16, more than 800 representatives from 205 countries and jurisdictions around the world, the IMF, UN, World Bank and other organisations, arrived for FATF Week in French capital Paris. Six days of meetings focused on global action to follow the money that fuels crime and terrorism and reduce the harm caused to people and society.    

(With agency inputs)