The United States said Tuesday it has added Pakistan to its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom, ramping up pressure over its treatment of minorities.

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had designated Pakistan among "countries of particular concern" in a congressionally mandated annual report, a year after the State Department put Pakistan on a watchlist without legal consequences.

Pompeo a year earlier had placed Pakistan on a special watch list -- a step short of the designation -- in what had been seen as a US tactic to press Islamabad into reforms.

Human rights advocates have long voiced worry about the treatment of minorities in Pakistan, including Shiites, Ahmadis and Christians.

This comes at a time when the <a href="http://www.wionews.com/videos/us-blocks-aid-to-pakistan-4271">Trump administration suspended &nbsp;$3 billion security aid to Pakistan </a>over its failure to counter terrorist groups.

US president Donald Trump said earlier that Pakistan did not "do a damn thing" for the US despite billions of dollars in American aid for the South Asian nation.

Responding to him Pak PM Imran Khan said that the US aid to Pakistan was a "miniscule" $20 billion, while the country lost 75,000 people and more than $123 billion fighting the 'US War on Terror'.

Trump became the first US president to announce the suspension of security aid to Pakistan.

Meanwhile, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/fatf-dissatisfied-over-pakistans-efforts-to-combat-terror-financing-report-172508">Financial Action Task Force (FATF) </a>had also placed Pakistan on the grey list for failing to curb anti-terror financing.

(With inputs from agencies)

The United States said Tuesday it has added Pakistan to its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom, ramping up pressure over its treatment of minorities.

The United States said Tuesday it has added Pakistan to its blacklist of countries that violate religious freedom, ramping up pressure over its treatment of minorities. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he had designated Pakistan among "countries of particular concern" in a congressionally mandated annual report, a year after the State Department put Pakistan on a watchlist without legal consequences. Pompeo a year earlier had placed Pakistan on a special watch list -- a step short of the designation -- in what had been seen as a US tactic to press Islamabad into reforms. Human rights advocates have long voiced worry about the treatment of minorities in Pakistan, including Shiites, Ahmadis and Christians. This comes at a time when the Trump administration suspended $3 billion security aid to Pakistan over its failure to counter terrorist groups. US president Donald Trump said earlier that Pakistan did not "do a damn thing" for the US despite billions of dollars in American aid for the South Asian nation. Responding to him Pak PM Imran Khan said that the US aid to Pakistan was a "miniscule" $20 billion, while the country lost 75,000 people and more than $123 billion fighting the 'US War on Terror'. Trump became the first US president to announce the suspension of security aid to Pakistan. Meanwhile, Financial Action Task Force (FATF) had also placed Pakistan on the grey list for failing to curb anti-terror financing. (With inputs from agencies)

US adds Pakistan to blacklist for religious freedom violations

Ahead of the big G20 summit in Argentina, India's sherpa or chief negotiator Shaktikanta Das has spoken to WION's Principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal. He said India will speak on the issue of terror, strengthening of Financial Action Task Force and bringing to book fugitive economic offenders.

On FATF a political message will be sent and it is not just passing laws to deal with terror but the actual implementation of FATF principals required by all countries.

India will also raise the issue of economic offenders in fellow G20 countries. This is on the basis of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya having a safe haven in the UK.

WION: What will be India's focus at this years G20 Summit?

Shaktikanta Das: India wants G20 to focus on the main challenges confronting the world. The main challenges are not just emanating from trade conflict, tariff conflict between certain big economies. This is a problem. Entire G20 should not be hijacked by the single current problem. There are other issues as well as Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs of 2030, how to deal with the problem of artificial intelligence and job creation. These are bigger challenges which G20 should focus on and we have been emphasising that while we should discuss trade issues and find a resolution on trade tariff issue, the focus should be on a wide range of issues as well.&nbsp;

WION: What is the relevance of G20 today and 10 years after the leaders' summit in 2008?

Shaktikanta Das: G20 became very active and proactive from 2008. In the last 10 years, if we look back to see&nbsp;what it has achieved in terms of outcomes, the first G20 summit saw agreements among leaders to take coordinated measures for the revival of the global economy. So, the kind of problems confronting the world in 2008 were contained in subsequent years. The first tangible outcomes of the G20 summits after 2008 is how to deal with global economic challenges. Number two is the monetary policy action of the developed countries. We saw monetary expansion post-2008. &nbsp;After they started withdrawing, there was a flight of capital from emerging economies to developed countries. Known popularly were&nbsp;taper tantrums. Thanks to G20 leaders who prevailed upon to spell-out in advance, a calibrated response in the withdrawal of monetary expansion policies so that the rest of the economies or rest of the world economies&nbsp;don't suffer. The third outcome&nbsp;is quota reforms at IMF. So, a lot of outcomes.&nbsp;

WION: What will be the India story at G20 summit in Argentina?

Shaktikanta Das: You see achievement which India has accomplished in the last few years have been widely appreciated and widely recognised. I can tell you from my experience. Naturally, when PM attends the summit, discussions will happen and these things will be refocused. India is looked on as a major global power and not just another G20 country. When India talks, it talks as a major global player who is trying to resolve major global issues such as the issue of terrorism. In Hamburg, our PM came out on an 11-point agenda to deal with the problem of terrorism. That has been accepted and the stand-alone statement was issued.&nbsp;

WION:&nbsp;How big will be the issue of terror for India?

Shaktikanta Das: India will focus on the issue of terrorism and terror financing. Making FATF more active and ensuring universal implementation of its rules. Not just passing laws to deal with terror but the actual implementation of FATF principals by all countries. Our focus will be on terrorism, terrorism financing, on unaccounted money and unaccounted flow what we call as black money. As you are aware, the prime minister had made an initiative in Brisbane summit and following this, we have multilateral agreements on sharing of information between countries. It's already implemented and countries are sharing information. India has a big story to tell in the fight against black money and India would like further action on that front. There is also need for greater cooperation on economic offence and problem of the fugitive economic offender. Economic offences have posed&nbsp;a major threat to the global economy and can undermine the economic stability of global economy&nbsp;

WION: So India will be raising the issue of economic offenders?

Shaktikanta Das: This has been discussed in meetings of Sherpas during Argentina presidency. The importance of the issue is now recognised by everyone. India is keen&nbsp;on the need for the energy security of emerging economies especially on the issue of stability of oil prices and oil supplies. India will focus on infrastructure and will be also keen on the resolution of trade issue which is an issue between two largest economies in the world.

India would like to play a constructive role so that they discuss the issue. Trade issues if allowed to continue, would have an impact on global growth. When global growth slows down, it impacts poor people.&nbsp;

WION: Compliance of FATF norms will also be raised?

Shaktikanta Das: Usually, G20 leaders give a strong political message on certain issues. Today, there is unanimity among all G20 countries that terror is a big threat to the world community and it has to be dealt with effectively. So FATF, its for the leaders to spell out what kind of appeal, or political message they would like to give to it. FATF has been playing a very significant role. One must recognize how to further strengthen the implementation of FATF standards by non-compliant countries and jurisdictions

WION:&nbsp;India has been doing a lot on climate change. How much will that be the focus?

Shaktikanta Das: India has been appealing to countries to join the International Solar Alliance. There has been a good progress. The PM has played important role in COP0-21 negotiations in Paris. Therefore, India would like to stress that the Paris agreement should be implemented. India has a lot of things to tell... we have a strong story to tell. India would like other countries to join the ISA. There was a commitment on climate finance by developed countries... that from 2020, developed countries will provide 100 million dollars in the form of climate finance. We don't see much progress. It's an important part of the Paris climate accord

WION: Cryptocurrency or bitcoin has been another issue of concern.

Shaktikanta Das: India's position has been spelt out by the Finance Minister in the last budget. He has cautioned people. It has the potential to become another Ponzi scheme. Understand it has been discussed in the finance track of G20. This is something that has to be dealt with very carefully.

WION: India has always been raising the issue of black money. Do we expect it to be raised this time since it aligns with the domestic agenda?

Shaktikanta Das: Our PM had talked about it during the Brisbane summit. During the successive summit, India has been focussing on greater coordination. India has enacted its own law on assets outside the country. India has been able to renegotiate tax treaties with Mauritius, Singapore. Fighting the menace of black money has been on India's focus.

WION: Connectivity has become a geopolitical currency but with it comes debt issue. What has been G20's&nbsp;stand?

Shaktikanta Das: Some countries have been raising issues. These are bilateral or regional issues. The issue of sustainable debt does come up.

WION: Big political picture India will be presenting?&nbsp;

Shaktikanta Das: India is playing an important role in G20 and Indian participation is very proactive. The PM is playing a very proactive role at the summit. There is a need to activate other forums like the WTO.

WTO should play a greater role on trade issues, FATF on the terror issue. You have the United Nations. The relevance of the United Nations cant belittled. Poor countries have a voice at the United Nation. All multilateral forums -- UN, WTO, IMF -- need to be activated.

WION: When will India host G20? &nbsp;

Shaktikanta Das: You will get to know when it will be announced.

Ahead of the big G20 summit in Argentina, India's sherpa or chief negotiator Shaktikanta Das has spoken to WION's Principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal.

Ahead of the big G20 summit in Argentina, India's sherpa or chief negotiator Shaktikanta Das has spoken to WION's Principal diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal. He said India will speak on the issue of terror, strengthening of Financial Action Task Force and bringing to book fugitive economic offenders. On FATF a political message will be sent and it is not just passing laws to deal with terror but the actual implementation of FATF principals required by all countries. India will also raise the issue of economic offenders in fellow G20 countries. This is on the basis of Nirav Modi and Vijay Mallya having a safe haven in the UK. WION: What will be India's focus at this years G20 Summit? Shaktikanta Das: India wants G20 to focus on the main challenges confronting the world. The main challenges are not just emanating from trade conflict, tariff conflict between certain big economies. This is a problem. Entire G20 should not be hijacked by the single current problem. There are other issues as well as Sustainable Development Goals or SDGs of 2030, how to deal with the problem of artificial intelligence and job creation. These are bigger challenges which G20 should focus on and we have been emphasising that while we should discuss trade issues and find a resolution on trade tariff issue, the focus should be on a wide range of issues as well. WION: What is the relevance of G20 today and 10 years after the leaders' summit in 2008? Shaktikanta Das: G20 became very active and proactive from 2008. In the last 10 years, if we look back to see what it has achieved in terms of outcomes, the first G20 summit saw agreements among leaders to take coordinated measures for the revival of the global economy. So, the kind of problems confronting the world in 2008 were contained in subsequent years. The first tangible outcomes of the G20 summits after 2008 is how to deal with global economic challenges. Number two is the monetary policy action of the developed countries. We saw monetary expansion post-2008. After they started withdrawing, there was a flight of capital from emerging economies to developed countries. Known popularly were taper tantrums. Thanks to G20 leaders who prevailed upon to spell-out in advance, a calibrated response in the withdrawal of monetary expansion policies so that the rest of the economies or rest of the world economies don't suffer. The third outcome is quota reforms at IMF. So, a lot of outcomes. WION: What will be the India story at G20 summit in Argentina? Shaktikanta Das: You see achievement which India has accomplished in the last few years have been widely appreciated and widely recognised. I can tell you from my experience. Naturally, when PM attends the summit, discussions will happen and these things will be refocused. India is looked on as a major global power and not just another G20 country. When India talks, it talks as a major global player who is trying to resolve major global issues such as the issue of terrorism. In Hamburg, our PM came out on an 11-point agenda to deal with the problem of terrorism. That has been accepted and the stand-alone statement was issued. WION: How big will be the issue of terror for India? Shaktikanta Das: India will focus on the issue of terrorism and terror financing. Making FATF more active and ensuring universal implementation of its rules. Not just passing laws to deal with terror but the actual implementation of FATF principals by all countries. Our focus will be on terrorism, terrorism financing, on unaccounted money and unaccounted flow what we call as black money. As you are aware, the prime minister had made an initiative in Brisbane summit and following this, we have multilateral agreements on sharing of information between countries. It's already implemented and countries are sharing information. India has a big story to tell in the fight against black money and India would like further action on that front. There is also need for greater cooperation on economic offence and problem of the fugitive economic offender. Economic offences have posed a major threat to the global economy and can undermine the economic stability of global economy WION: So India will be raising the issue of economic offenders? Shaktikanta Das: This has been discussed in meetings of Sherpas during Argentina presidency. The importance of the issue is now recognised by everyone. India is keen on the need for the energy security of emerging economies especially on the issue of stability of oil prices and oil supplies. India will focus on infrastructure and will be also keen on the resolution of trade issue which is an issue between two largest economies in the world. India would like to play a constructive role so that they discuss the issue. Trade issues if allowed to continue, would have an impact on global growth. When global growth slows down, it impacts poor people. WION: Compliance of FATF norms will also be raised? Shaktikanta Das: Usually, G20 leaders give a strong political message on certain issues. Today, there is unanimity among all G20 countries that terror is a big threat to the world community and it has to be dealt with effectively. So FATF, its for the leaders to spell out what kind of appeal, or political message they would like to give to it. FATF has been playing a very significant role. One must recognize how to further strengthen the implementation of FATF standards by non-compliant countries and jurisdictions WION: India has been doing a lot on climate change. How much will that be the focus? Shaktikanta Das: India has been appealing to countries to join the International Solar Alliance. There has been a good progress. The PM has played important role in COP0-21 negotiations in Paris. Therefore, India would like to stress that the Paris agreement should be implemented. India has a lot of things to tell... we have a strong story to tell. India would like other countries to join the ISA. There was a commitment on climate finance by developed countries... that from 2020, developed countries will provide 100 million dollars in the form of climate finance. We don't see much progress. It's an important part of the Paris climate accord WION: Cryptocurrency or bitcoin has been another issue of concern. Shaktikanta Das: India's position has been spelt out by the Finance Minister in the last budget. He has cautioned people. It has the potential to become another Ponzi scheme. Understand it has been discussed in the finance track of G20. This is something that has to be dealt with very carefully. WION: India has always been raising the issue of black money. Do we expect it to be raised this time since it aligns with the domestic agenda? Shaktikanta Das: Our PM had talked about it during the Brisbane summit. During the successive summit, India has been focussing on greater coordination. India has enacted its own law on assets outside the country. India has been able to renegotiate tax treaties with Mauritius, Singapore. Fighting the menace of black money has been on India's focus. WION: Connectivity has become a geopolitical currency but with it comes debt issue. What has been G20's stand? Shaktikanta Das: Some countries have been raising issues. These are bilateral or regional issues. The issue of sustainable debt does come up. WION: Big political picture India will be presenting? Shaktikanta Das: India is playing an important role in G20 and Indian participation is very proactive. The PM is playing a very proactive role at the summit. There is a need to activate other forums like the WTO. WTO should play a greater role on trade issues, FATF on the terror issue. You have the United Nations. The relevance of the United Nations cant belittled. Poor countries have a voice at the United Nation. All multilateral forums -- UN, WTO, IMF -- need to be activated. WION: When will India host G20? Shaktikanta Das: You will get to know when it will be announced.

Strengthening FATF India's top focus at G20: India's Sherpa Shaktikanta Das to WION

PM Modi speaking at the informal <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/g20-begins-today-pm-modi-says-focus-on-fugitive-economic-offenders-strengthening-global-economy-180324">BRICS meeting on the sidelines</a> of the G20 summit at Buenos Aires said terror and radicalisation were the biggest challenges facing the world.

"Terrorism and radicalism are a threat to the world, those who commit financial crimes are also a big threat. We have to work together against black money," the Indian prime minister at the first engagement ahead of the BRICS summit.

"We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations," PM Modi asserted, adding that it is the reason BRICS nations have come together.

"Economic offenders are a big concern globally," he said.

The gathering consisting of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa had met in July at Johannesburg. The next BRICS meeting will take place in Brazil next year.

The prime minister also spoke about Financial Action Task Force(FATF) and the need to strengthen it. He said India had asked all countries for FATF parameters and benchmarks. The FATF had placed Pakistan on the terror financing "grey list" in June.&nbsp;

"In his first of the many engagements today, PM Modi participated at the BRICS Leaders' Informal Meeting on the margins of G20 summit and reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism," External affairs ministry spokesperson said in a statement.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
BRICS as an engine of global growth. 
 
In his first of the many engagements today, PM <a href="https://twitter.com/narendramodi?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@narendramodi</a> participated at <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/BRICS?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#BRICS</a> Leaders’ Informal Meeting on the margins of <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/G20Summit?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#G20Summit</a>. Reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism. <a href="https://t.co/wdBKX8iY6z">pic.twitter.com/wdBKX8iY6z</a>
— Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) <a href="https://twitter.com/MEAIndia/status/1068496303355768832?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 30, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">×</a></div>

&nbsp;

PM Modi speaking at the informal BRICS meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit at Buenos Aires said terror and radicalisation were the biggest challenges facing the world.

PM Modi speaking at the informal BRICS meeting on the sidelines of the G20 summit at Buenos Aires said terror and radicalisation were the biggest challenges facing the world. "Terrorism and radicalism are a threat to the world, those who commit financial crimes are also a big threat. We have to work together against black money," the Indian prime minister at the first engagement ahead of the BRICS summit. "We have to talk in one voice for the interest of developing nations in the United Nations and other multilateral organizations," PM Modi asserted, adding that it is the reason BRICS nations have come together. "Economic offenders are a big concern globally," he said. The gathering consisting of Brazil, Russia, China and South Africa had met in July at Johannesburg. The next BRICS meeting will take place in Brazil next year. The prime minister also spoke about Financial Action Task Force(FATF) and the need to strengthen it. He said India had asked all countries for FATF parameters and benchmarks. The FATF had placed Pakistan on the terror financing "grey list" in June. "In his first of the many engagements today, PM Modi participated at the BRICS Leaders' Informal Meeting on the margins of G20 summit and reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism," External affairs ministry spokesperson said in a statement. BRICS as an engine of global growth. In his first of the many engagements today, PM @narendramodi participated at #BRICS Leaders’ Informal Meeting on the margins of #G20Summit. Reaffirmed India's commitment to globalisation and reformed multilateralism. pic.twitter.com/wdBKX8iY6z — Raveesh Kumar (@MEAIndia) November 30, 2018 ×

G20: Need to tackle terror financing, strengthen FATF, says PM Modi at informal BRICS meet

Expressing dissatisfaction over Pakistan's efforts to combat terror financing, a delegation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has asked the country to take robust steps to strengthen its legal framework if it wants to avoid being blacklisted by the anti-money laundering watchdog, according to a media report on Saturday.

Currently placed on the FATF's 'grey list', Pakistan has been scrambling in recent months to avoid being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations by the Paris-based watchdog, a measure that officials here fear could further hurt its economy.

A nine-member team of the FATF's Asia-Pacific Group (APG), which visited Pakistan from October 8 to October 19 to review the progress made by it on an action plan agreed in June to address global concerns, has finalised a report with 40 recommendations for de-listing Islamabad from its 'grey list' from September 2019. 
 
However, the APG delegation has expressed dissatisfaction over Pakistan's progress to comply with international best practices against money laundering and counter-terror financing, the Dawn reported.

Quoting sources, it said the APG delegation, which shared its final findings with the authorities, has highlighted shortcomings on anti-money laundering front, control and monitoring of non-profit organisations and counter-terror financing mechanism as various institutions suffered poor interface of information sharing and action to combat these deficiencies.

Even in areas where legal framework was robust, the APG found the implementation as too weak, the report said. 
Highlighting deficiencies in law, regulations and mechanisms and weaknesses of various institutions, the delegation said with this pace, Pakistan was unlikely to get out of the grey list.

The authorities, according to sources, were told in clear terms that Pakistan would have to make robust and significant progress from now onwards and before the next on-site review in March-April if it want to move out of the grey list or else would fall into the blacklist having serious consequences.

Officials of the ministries of interior, finance, foreign affairs and law besides the State Bank of Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the National Counter-Terrorism Authority, the FIA, the Federal Board of Revenue, the National Accountability Bureau, the Anti-Narcotics Force, the FMU, the Central Directorate of National Savings and provincial counter-terrorism departments attended the briefings and explanations.

The APG would submit its draft report to the Pakistani authorities by November 19. The country was asked to submit its response to the findings within 15 days after the receipt of the report on the basis of which the APG would submit its interim report to the FATF in Paris.

The APG delegation will visit Pakistan again in March-April next year for another 'on-site mutual evaluation' whose report will be made public in July 2019. 
The delegation also informed Finance Minister Asad Umar that the relevant agencies during their interactions with the APG were either ill-prepared or ill-informed or were unwilling to share information.

The visiting team included Ian Collins of the United Kingdom's Scotland Yard, James Prussing of the United States Department of the Treasury, Ashraf Abdullah of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Maldives, Bobby Wahyu Hernawan of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, Gong Jingyan of the Peoples Bank of China and Mustafa Necmeddin Oztop of the Turkish Ministry of Justice.&nbsp;

The three members of the APG secretariat include Executive Secretary Gordon Hook, Deputy Directors Mohammad Al-Rashdan and Shannon Rutherford.

In June, Pakistan had made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF to address its strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies by implementing a 10-point action plan. The successful implementation of the action plan and its physical verification by the FATF will get Pakistan out of the 'grey list' from September 2019.&nbsp;

By January next year, Pakistan will have to identify and assess domestic and international terror financing risks to and from its system to strengthen investigations and improve inter-agency, FIA, SBP, SECP, banks, home and interior departments and associated agencies&nbsp;coordination, as well as federal and provincial coordination to combat these risks.

The government will also have to complete the profiling of terror groups or suspected terrorists and their financial assets and strengths, besides their members and their family backgrounds, and make them accessible at the inter-agency level.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;Besides, Pakistan will also have to complete investigation into the widest range of terror financing activities, including appeals and calls for donations and collection of funds, and their movements and uses. The outcome will have to be published at least twice before September next year.&nbsp;

Expressing dissatisfaction over Pakistan's efforts to combat terror financing, a delegation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has asked the country to take robust steps to strengthen its legal framework if it wants to avoid being blacklisted by the anti-money laundering watchdog, according to a media report on Saturday.

Expressing dissatisfaction over Pakistan's efforts to combat terror financing, a delegation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has asked the country to take robust steps to strengthen its legal framework if it wants to avoid being blacklisted by the anti-money laundering watchdog, according to a media report on Saturday. Currently placed on the FATF's 'grey list', Pakistan has been scrambling in recent months to avoid being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations by the Paris-based watchdog, a measure that officials here fear could further hurt its economy. A nine-member team of the FATF's Asia-Pacific Group (APG), which visited Pakistan from October 8 to October 19 to review the progress made by it on an action plan agreed in June to address global concerns, has finalised a report with 40 recommendations for de-listing Islamabad from its 'grey list' from September 2019. However, the APG delegation has expressed dissatisfaction over Pakistan's progress to comply with international best practices against money laundering and counter-terror financing, the Dawn reported. Quoting sources, it said the APG delegation, which shared its final findings with the authorities, has highlighted shortcomings on anti-money laundering front, control and monitoring of non-profit organisations and counter-terror financing mechanism as various institutions suffered poor interface of information sharing and action to combat these deficiencies. Even in areas where legal framework was robust, the APG found the implementation as too weak, the report said. Highlighting deficiencies in law, regulations and mechanisms and weaknesses of various institutions, the delegation said with this pace, Pakistan was unlikely to get out of the grey list. The authorities, according to sources, were told in clear terms that Pakistan would have to make robust and significant progress from now onwards and before the next on-site review in March-April if it want to move out of the grey list or else would fall into the blacklist having serious consequences. Officials of the ministries of interior, finance, foreign affairs and law besides the State Bank of Pakistan, the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, the National Counter-Terrorism Authority, the FIA, the Federal Board of Revenue, the National Accountability Bureau, the Anti-Narcotics Force, the FMU, the Central Directorate of National Savings and provincial counter-terrorism departments attended the briefings and explanations. The APG would submit its draft report to the Pakistani authorities by November 19. The country was asked to submit its response to the findings within 15 days after the receipt of the report on the basis of which the APG would submit its interim report to the FATF in Paris. The APG delegation will visit Pakistan again in March-April next year for another 'on-site mutual evaluation' whose report will be made public in July 2019. The delegation also informed Finance Minister Asad Umar that the relevant agencies during their interactions with the APG were either ill-prepared or ill-informed or were unwilling to share information. The visiting team included Ian Collins of the United Kingdom's Scotland Yard, James Prussing of the United States Department of the Treasury, Ashraf Abdullah of the Financial Intelligence Unit of the Maldives, Bobby Wahyu Hernawan of the Indonesian Ministry of Finance, Gong Jingyan of the Peoples Bank of China and Mustafa Necmeddin Oztop of the Turkish Ministry of Justice. The three members of the APG secretariat include Executive Secretary Gordon Hook, Deputy Directors Mohammad Al-Rashdan and Shannon Rutherford. In June, Pakistan had made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF to address its strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies by implementing a 10-point action plan. The successful implementation of the action plan and its physical verification by the FATF will get Pakistan out of the 'grey list' from September 2019. By January next year, Pakistan will have to identify and assess domestic and international terror financing risks to and from its system to strengthen investigations and improve inter-agency, FIA, SBP, SECP, banks, home and interior departments and associated agencies coordination, as well as federal and provincial coordination to combat these risks. The government will also have to complete the profiling of terror groups or suspected terrorists and their financial assets and strengths, besides their members and their family backgrounds, and make them accessible at the inter-agency level. Besides, Pakistan will also have to complete investigation into the widest range of terror financing activities, including appeals and calls for donations and collection of funds, and their movements and uses. The outcome will have to be published at least twice before September next year.

FATF dissatisfied over Pakistan's efforts to combat terror financing: Report

A global financial watchdog on Friday warned Iran to clamp down on terrorism financing by February or face a deeper squeeze on its sanctions-hit economy.

The Islamic republic, already hurt by a resumption of US sanctions over its past nuclear programme, this month approved one bill to help meet demands imposed by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF).&nbsp;

FATF, following a meeting at its Paris headquarters this week, welcomed the legislation and extended a suspension of counter-measures that has allowed Iran to escape further isolation from international finance.

But nine of the 10 "action plan" items needed to remove Iran from an FATF blacklist have yet to be adopted by Tehran, according to Marshall Billingslea, the US assistant treasury secretary for terrorist financing.

"In our plenary, here in Paris, we expressed our disappointment that the majority of the action plan remains outstanding," said Billingslea, who currently chairs the FATF, told a news conference.

"We expect that they will have adopted all these measures by February," he said.

Billingslea said if measures were not adopted by February next year, the FATF will take further steps to protect against the risks from Iran's lack of action.

Pressing finance needs

For Iran, access to finance has become particularly pressing since the United States walked out of a 2015 nuclear deal earlier this year and began reimposing sanctions.&nbsp;

The other parties to the deal -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- have sought to salvage the agreement and maintain trade with Iran, but have demanded that it accede to the FATF.&nbsp;

Among the further steps demanded by the FATF, originally an initiative of the G7 nations, was for Iran to identify and freeze extremist assets in line with UN Security Council resolutions.&nbsp;

Another was for Tehran to remove an exemption from its legislation that allows financing towards groups deemed to be attempting to end "foreign occupation, colonialism and racism".

Iran has long been accused by the United States, Israel and regional rivals such as Saudi Arabia of financing a web of extremist groups, including the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon.

In a statement, the FATF said it will review Iran's remaining legislation once it is in place to determine whether Tehran had met its demands.

It urged FATF members to exercise heightened checks on transactions involving Iranian businesses and nationals.&nbsp;

Iran is one of only two countries on the FATF blacklist.

The other is North Korea, and Friday's statement reiterated "serious concerns" about the Asian country's illicit activities to finance its missile and nuclear programmes.

A global financial watchdog on Friday warned Iran to clamp down on terrorism financing by February or face a deeper squeeze on its sanctions-hit economy. The Islamic republic, already hurt by a resumption of US sanctions over its past nuclear programme, this month approved one bill to help meet demands imposed by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

A global financial watchdog on Friday warned Iran to clamp down on terrorism financing by February or face a deeper squeeze on its sanctions-hit economy. The Islamic republic, already hurt by a resumption of US sanctions over its past nuclear programme, this month approved one bill to help meet demands imposed by the international Financial Action Task Force (FATF). FATF, following a meeting at its Paris headquarters this week, welcomed the legislation and extended a suspension of counter-measures that has allowed Iran to escape further isolation from international finance. But nine of the 10 "action plan" items needed to remove Iran from an FATF blacklist have yet to be adopted by Tehran, according to Marshall Billingslea, the US assistant treasury secretary for terrorist financing. "In our plenary, here in Paris, we expressed our disappointment that the majority of the action plan remains outstanding," said Billingslea, who currently chairs the FATF, told a news conference. "We expect that they will have adopted all these measures by February," he said. Billingslea said if measures were not adopted by February next year, the FATF will take further steps to protect against the risks from Iran's lack of action. Pressing finance needs For Iran, access to finance has become particularly pressing since the United States walked out of a 2015 nuclear deal earlier this year and began reimposing sanctions. The other parties to the deal -- Britain, France, Germany, China and Russia -- have sought to salvage the agreement and maintain trade with Iran, but have demanded that it accede to the FATF. Among the further steps demanded by the FATF, originally an initiative of the G7 nations, was for Iran to identify and freeze extremist assets in line with UN Security Council resolutions. Another was for Tehran to remove an exemption from its legislation that allows financing towards groups deemed to be attempting to end "foreign occupation, colonialism and racism". Iran has long been accused by the United States, Israel and regional rivals such as Saudi Arabia of financing a web of extremist groups, including the Hezbollah militia in Lebanon. In a statement, the FATF said it will review Iran's remaining legislation once it is in place to determine whether Tehran had met its demands. It urged FATF members to exercise heightened checks on transactions involving Iranian businesses and nationals. Iran is one of only two countries on the FATF blacklist. The other is North Korea, and Friday's statement reiterated "serious concerns" about the Asian country's illicit activities to finance its missile and nuclear programmes.

Iran gets February deadline to fix terror financing: Watchdog

Anti-terror watchdog Financial Action Task Force, FATF, has cracked its whip again on Pakistan stating that all business transactions in the country must be documented.&nbsp;

After placing Pakistan on the grey list of countries that financially aid terrorism, the FATF has asked the Imran Khan-led the government to track transactions. Sources told WION that Pakistan will be required to document its dollar and euro transactions above 3,000 dollars with details of the sender. &nbsp;&nbsp;

Government sources in Pakistan have confirmed to WION that the FATF wants the government to maintain records of all transactions, even ones not done through banks.

In addition, all business transactions by real estate agents, dealers of gold and professional services providers will also need to be documented, sources informed.&nbsp;

A nine-member financial action task force team was in Islamabad recently to discuss measures taken by the Pak government to counter money laundering and terror financing.

The anti-terror financing body has also asked Pakistan for a deadline to end money laundering and terror financing from its territory.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday stated that <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/we-dont-have-enough-to-pay-loans-decided-to-approach-imf-and-friendly-countries-imran-khan-170763">Pakistan will go to the International Monetary Fund and friendly countries</a> for financial help to avert a looming balance of payments crisis.&nbsp;

Khan said the current account deficit was about $18 billion. "We do not have enough dollars to pay the instalments of our loans," he said in a speech. "We debated and decided to go both the IMF and countries which are our friends."

Khan described ironically the $18 billion deficit as "a gift from the previous government".

"This is the biggest ever deficit of Pakistan's history," he said. "I want to tell all of you to stay strong and not to panic. This is for a very short period of time which will go away," news agency Reuters quoted Khan.

(With inputs from Reuters)&nbsp; 
&nbsp;

Anti-terror watchdog Financial Action Task Force, FATF, has cracked its whip again on Pakistan stating that all business transactions in the country must be documented.

Anti-terror watchdog Financial Action Task Force, FATF, has cracked its whip again on Pakistan stating that all business transactions in the country must be documented. After placing Pakistan on the grey list of countries that financially aid terrorism, the FATF has asked the Imran Khan-led the government to track transactions. Sources told WION that Pakistan will be required to document its dollar and euro transactions above 3,000 dollars with details of the sender. Government sources in Pakistan have confirmed to WION that the FATF wants the government to maintain records of all transactions, even ones not done through banks. In addition, all business transactions by real estate agents, dealers of gold and professional services providers will also need to be documented, sources informed. A nine-member financial action task force team was in Islamabad recently to discuss measures taken by the Pak government to counter money laundering and terror financing. The anti-terror financing body has also asked Pakistan for a deadline to end money laundering and terror financing from its territory. Meanwhile, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday stated that Pakistan will go to the International Monetary Fund and friendly countries for financial help to avert a looming balance of payments crisis. Khan said the current account deficit was about $18 billion. "We do not have enough dollars to pay the instalments of our loans," he said in a speech. "We debated and decided to go both the IMF and countries which are our friends." Khan described ironically the $18 billion deficit as "a gift from the previous government". "This is the biggest ever deficit of Pakistan's history," he said. "I want to tell all of you to stay strong and not to panic. This is for a very short period of time which will go away," news agency Reuters quoted Khan. (With inputs from Reuters)

FATF cracks whip on Pakistan again, asks to document all business transactions

A team of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is set to hold meetings with top Pakistani officials on Monday to discuss the measures taken by Pakistan so far to counter money laundering and terror financing.

The nine-member delegation, comprising members of FATF's Asia Pacific Group (APG), arrived here on Sunday on a 12-day visit to see the implementation of the action plan Pakistan had issued earlier this year, official sources said.&nbsp;

The team includes experts from British Scotland Yard, US Department of Treasury, Financial Intelligence Unit of Maldives, Indonesian Ministry of Finance, Peoples' Bank of China and Justice Department of Turkey.&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;

Pakistan was formally added to the 'grey list' of countries involved in providing monetary assistance to terrorism and related causes after a FATF meeting in Paris in June.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.

Sources in the finance ministry said that "Pakistan has done its homework" and the delegation will be briefed about the measures to curb terror financing through money laundering and illegal remittances.

The team will carry out on-site inspections in order to see the systems and mechanisms put in place while its three members will stay for a longer period to review progress on the 10-point action plan agreed with Pakistan.

Pakistan and FATF negotiated a 10-point action plan to be implemented by September 2019 to get out of the greylist.

Already, a team of FATF visited in August to identify deficiencies in Pakistan's anti-money laundering/counter-terror financing laws and mechanisms.

During the current visit, the experts will meet officials from ministries of Interior, Finance, Foreign affairs and Law.

They are also likely to meet officials of State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, National Counter-Terrorism Authority, Federal Investigation Agency, Federal Board of Revenue, National Accountability Bureau, Anti-Narcotics Force, Financial Monitoring Unit, Central Directorate of National Savings and provincial counter-terrorism departments.&nbsp;

A team of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is set to hold meetings with top Pakistani officials on Monday to discuss the measures taken by Pakistan so far to counter money laundering and terror financing.

A team of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is set to hold meetings with top Pakistani officials on Monday to discuss the measures taken by Pakistan so far to counter money laundering and terror financing. The nine-member delegation, comprising members of FATF's Asia Pacific Group (APG), arrived here on Sunday on a 12-day visit to see the implementation of the action plan Pakistan had issued earlier this year, official sources said. The team includes experts from British Scotland Yard, US Department of Treasury, Financial Intelligence Unit of Maldives, Indonesian Ministry of Finance, Peoples' Bank of China and Justice Department of Turkey. Pakistan was formally added to the 'grey list' of countries involved in providing monetary assistance to terrorism and related causes after a FATF meeting in Paris in June. The FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system. Sources in the finance ministry said that "Pakistan has done its homework" and the delegation will be briefed about the measures to curb terror financing through money laundering and illegal remittances. The team will carry out on-site inspections in order to see the systems and mechanisms put in place while its three members will stay for a longer period to review progress on the 10-point action plan agreed with Pakistan. Pakistan and FATF negotiated a 10-point action plan to be implemented by September 2019 to get out of the greylist. Already, a team of FATF visited in August to identify deficiencies in Pakistan's anti-money laundering/counter-terror financing laws and mechanisms. During the current visit, the experts will meet officials from ministries of Interior, Finance, Foreign affairs and Law. They are also likely to meet officials of State Bank of Pakistan, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan, National Counter-Terrorism Authority, Federal Investigation Agency, Federal Board of Revenue, National Accountability Bureau, Anti-Narcotics Force, Financial Monitoring Unit, Central Directorate of National Savings and provincial counter-terrorism departments.

FATF team in Pak to examine steps taken against terror financing

Pakistan is giving finishing touches to its action plan that proposes measures for combating money laundering and terror financing to prevent itself from being placed on the grey list of a global watchdog next month, according to a media report.

A compliance report has been submitted by the Pakistani government to the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) - a sub-group within the Paris-based watchdog Financial Action Task Force - detailing the steps taken thus far and those that will be taken in the future to bring Pakistan's financial, regulatory and legal landscape into compliance with the watchdog's requirements, Dawn News reported.

On Friday, a meeting was convened at the Foreign Office to review the proposed actions which are to be discussed with APG joint working group in Bangkok next week.

This was the last in a series of meetings taking place within the government as officials race to meet the June deadline by when Pakistan will be placed on the FATF grey list.

A senior official in the finance ministry was quoted as saying in the report that a delegation from Pakistan would depart within the next few days for consultations with the APG's Joint Working Group in Bangkok.

That meeting will discuss the steps proposed by Pakistan to be taken after June to exit the grey list. The report has been drawn up by the Financial Monitoring Unit, a department housed in the State Bank of Pakistan, according to sources with knowledge of the matter.

The FATF earlier sent an email to the SBP highlighting its concerns over the amnesty scheme introduced by the government in its last budget.

The email points out that Pakistan is required to inform FATF before announcing any such scheme. To address their concerns, Pakistan included a provision to specify that 'proceeds of crime are not eligible' for the amnesty scheme.

The senior official confirmed that the placement of Pakistan on the grey list was set to commence in June. He said the action plan drawn up by the government would set conditions for Pakistan to meet in a period of one year, the report said.

None of those working on the matter were willing to discuss the details of the action plan.

"Whatever conditions are being finalised, we will implement it administratively," one source said.

The details of action plan remained under negotiation with the FATF and set to be finalised by next month, the official said.

Pakistan was listed as grey in 2012 but was removed in 2015 after strenuous efforts to address the concerns of the group.

The US spearheaded the latest efforts to place Pakistan on the Grey List and was supported by the UK, France and Germany.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 with a primary aim to set standards to combat money laundering, but in 2001 its mandate was expanded to include countering terror financing.

It can take action against any country by including a country in black or grey lists.&nbsp

This was the last in a series of meetings taking place within the government as officials race to meet the June deadline by when Pakistan will be placed on the FATF grey list.

Pakistan is giving finishing touches to its action plan that proposes measures for combating money laundering and terror financing to prevent itself from being placed on the grey list of a global watchdog next month, according to a media report. A compliance report has been submitted by the Pakistani government to the Asia-Pacific Group (APG) - a sub-group within the Paris-based watchdog Financial Action Task Force - detailing the steps taken thus far and those that will be taken in the future to bring Pakistan's financial, regulatory and legal landscape into compliance with the watchdog's requirements, Dawn News reported. On Friday, a meeting was convened at the Foreign Office to review the proposed actions which are to be discussed with APG joint working group in Bangkok next week. This was the last in a series of meetings taking place within the government as officials race to meet the June deadline by when Pakistan will be placed on the FATF grey list. A senior official in the finance ministry was quoted as saying in the report that a delegation from Pakistan would depart within the next few days for consultations with the APG's Joint Working Group in Bangkok. That meeting will discuss the steps proposed by Pakistan to be taken after June to exit the grey list. The report has been drawn up by the Financial Monitoring Unit, a department housed in the State Bank of Pakistan, according to sources with knowledge of the matter. The FATF earlier sent an email to the SBP highlighting its concerns over the amnesty scheme introduced by the government in its last budget. The email points out that Pakistan is required to inform FATF before announcing any such scheme. To address their concerns, Pakistan included a provision to specify that 'proceeds of crime are not eligible' for the amnesty scheme. The senior official confirmed that the placement of Pakistan on the grey list was set to commence in June. He said the action plan drawn up by the government would set conditions for Pakistan to meet in a period of one year, the report said. None of those working on the matter were willing to discuss the details of the action plan. "Whatever conditions are being finalised, we will implement it administratively," one source said. The details of action plan remained under negotiation with the FATF and set to be finalised by next month, the official said. Pakistan was listed as grey in 2012 but was removed in 2015 after strenuous efforts to address the concerns of the group. The US spearheaded the latest efforts to place Pakistan on the Grey List and was supported by the UK, France and Germany. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) was set up in 1989 with a primary aim to set standards to combat money laundering, but in 2001 its mandate was expanded to include countering terror financing. It can take action against any country by including a country in black or grey lists.

Pakistan racing to meet FATF demands before June

As the US <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/some-countries-proposed-to-put-pakistan-in-fatf-grey-list-india-33126">steps up pressure on Abbasi&#39;s government </a>over terror, Defence secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that there have been &quot;changes in Pakistan&#39;s behaviour&quot;.

&quot;There have <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pak-government-acted-against-juds-charities-due-to-us-plot-hafiz-saeed-33940">been changes in Pakistan&#39;s behaviour</a> (since the South Asia strategy was announced),&quot; Mattis told reporters, adding,&quot;There are other issues; the fatwa (against suicide bombings) that came out, that came out of Pakistan. That was a step in the right direction.&quot;

Pakistan has been under pressure from the US and its allies over being named in the &quot;grey list&quot; in Financial Action Task Force(FATF), a move which could take place in June.

The US approached the FATF to put Pakistan on global terrorist-financing watch list, accusing Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups.

&quot;One of the reasons I want to go in is actually talk to the people who are dealing with the border issues right now, dealing with intelligence and what they&#39;re seeing,&quot; Mattis said.

&quot;And then go back and talk with our intelligence agencies in Washington, DC, and put together an assessment of this,&quot; the US defence secretary added.

On the proposed Afghan peace initiative with the Taliban, Mattis said: &quot;At that point, setting the conditions for the diplomats to sit down, and the leadership to sit down and try to get this out of the violence and into the diplomatic stance.&quot;

However, Mattis added despite US efforts to get Taliban on the negotiating table, the US would continue to put military pressure on the terror outfit.

&quot;..You need to have that door open, even as you increase the military pressure and say this is not going to work. You know, to just be setting off bombs,&quot; Mattis observed.

The US approached the FATF to put Pakistan on global terrorist-financing watch list, accusing Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups

As the US steps up pressure on Abbasi's government over terror, Defence secretary Jim Mattis said on Thursday that there have been "changes in Pakistan's behaviour". "There have been changes in Pakistan's behaviour (since the South Asia strategy was announced)," Mattis told reporters, adding,"There are other issues; the fatwa (against suicide bombings) that came out, that came out of Pakistan. That was a step in the right direction." Pakistan has been under pressure from the US and its allies over being named in the "grey list" in Financial Action Task Force(FATF), a move which could take place in June. The US approached the FATF to put Pakistan on global terrorist-financing watch list, accusing Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups. "One of the reasons I want to go in is actually talk to the people who are dealing with the border issues right now, dealing with intelligence and what they're seeing," Mattis said. "And then go back and talk with our intelligence agencies in Washington, DC, and put together an assessment of this," the US defence secretary added. On the proposed Afghan peace initiative with the Taliban, Mattis said: "At that point, setting the conditions for the diplomats to sit down, and the leadership to sit down and try to get this out of the violence and into the diplomatic stance." However, Mattis added despite US efforts to get Taliban on the negotiating table, the US would continue to put military pressure on the terror outfit. "..You need to have that door open, even as you increase the military pressure and say this is not going to work. You know, to just be setting off bombs," Mattis observed.

'Pakistan's behaviour is changing,' says US defense  secretary Jim Mattis

After weeks of speculation, <a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/us-move-to-embarrass-us-on-fatf-says-paks-paris-negotiator-34120">the Pakistan foreign office spokesman </a>said today the country will be placed in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June.

The Dawn newspaper quoted <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/some-countries-proposed-to-put-pakistan-in-fatf-grey-list-india-33126">foreign ministry official </a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/some-countries-proposed-to-put-pakistan-in-fatf-grey-list-india-33126">Dr</a><a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/some-countries-proposed-to-put-pakistan-in-fatf-grey-list-india-33126"> Muhammad</a> Faisal saying: &quot;Pakistan will be assigned to the &quot;grey list&quot; in June, once an action plan has been mutually negotiated.&quot;

The spokesman added that Pakistan will cooperate with the international body in every way.

The spokesman denied that Pakistan will be transferred from the &quot;grey list&quot; to the &quot;blacklist&quot; in June. The FATF guidelines state those countries who do not cooperate to be put on the blacklist.

The Pakistan daily said that foreign ministry highlighted &quot;certain&quot; deficiencies in Pakistan&#39;s anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing effort.

&quot;We will take further actions for addressing any remaining deficiencies,&quot; Faisal said.

There was largescale speculation over Pakistan&#39;s inclusion in the terror financing watchlist after Pak officials had earlier said FATF had given the country a reprieve and reports said China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia had helped thwart pressure by the US to put Pak on the list.

In the end, however, China which is an all-weather ally of Pakistan decided to remain neutral after it was made the vice chair of the global body.

The spokesman added that Pakistan will cooperate with the international body in every way.

After weeks of speculation, the Pakistan foreign office spokesman said today the country will be placed in Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June. The Dawn newspaper quoted foreign ministry official Dr Muhammad Faisal saying: "Pakistan will be assigned to the "grey list" in June, once an action plan has been mutually negotiated." The spokesman added that Pakistan will cooperate with the international body in every way. The spokesman denied that Pakistan will be transferred from the "grey list" to the "blacklist" in June. The FATF guidelines state those countries who do not cooperate to be put on the blacklist. The Pakistan daily said that foreign ministry highlighted "certain" deficiencies in Pakistan's anti-money laundering and anti-terror financing effort. "We will take further actions for addressing any remaining deficiencies," Faisal said. There was largescale speculation over Pakistan's inclusion in the terror financing watchlist after Pak officials had earlier said FATF had given the country a reprieve and reports said China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia had helped thwart pressure by the US to put Pak on the list. In the end, however, China which is an all-weather ally of Pakistan decided to remain neutral after it was made the vice chair of the global body.

Pakistan to be placed on FATF terror financing watchlist, confirms foreign ministry

Pakistan&#39;s de facto finance minister, Miftah Ismail, has brushed off concerns that economic growth will suffer because of the country`s re-inclusion on a terrorist financing watch list, and lashed out against the United States for seeking to &quot;embarrass&quot; his nation.

 
Washington last week persuaded member states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place Pakistan back on the &quot;grey list&quot; of nations with inadequate terrorist financing or money laundering controls. Pakistan was on the list for three years, until 2015.

 
The diplomatic setback has sparked anger in Islamabad against the United States, which championed the motion against Pakistan at the FATF meeting in Paris. It represented another blow to the worsening relationship between the uneasy allies, who have long differed on how to combat Islamist militants waging war in Afghanistan.

 
It has also heightened concerns that Pakistan is becoming internationally isolated, and that its economy could suffer if global banking intuitions cut links with the nuclear-armed nation, or otherwise increase the cost of doing business with Pakistan.

 
Ismail, officially the adviser on finance, revenue and economic affairs to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, led Pakistan&#39;s negotiations in Paris. He told Reuters that Washington did not seem genuinely eager to see Pakistan boost its terrorist financing regulations and was instead bent on humiliating the country.

 
&quot;If the Americans were interested in working with us and improving our CTF (counter-terrorist financing) regulations, they would have taken the offer I was making them,&quot; Ismail said. &quot;But their idea was just to embarrass Pakistan.&quot;

Diplomatic and Pakistani government sources say Pakistan fended off a US-led motion on Tuesday as Turkey, China and the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) countries objected to it. But in a break from tradition, the motion was brought up again on Thursday and passed as the GCC and China dropped their objections.

 
Ismail said that he urged the United States to allow Pakistan until June to fix any outstanding CTF issues and ceded ground in negotiations to strike a deal, but that the U.S. was determined to see Pakistan suffer.&nbsp;

 
US&nbsp;officials say Pakistan remains weak on terrorist financing prosecutions and has not done enough to combat money-raising capabilities of Islamic charities controlled by Hafiz Saeed, whom the U.S. has designated a terrorist. The officials blame Saeed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people.

 
In the run-up to the FATF meeting, Pakistan sought to gain favour by seizing control of parts of Saeed&#39;s Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) charities, which the United States terms &quot;terrorist fronts&quot; for militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).&nbsp;

 
Saeed, who founded LeT in 1980s, denies orchestrating the Mumbai attacks.

 
Diplomats have cast doubt on whether the takeovers are long-lasting, or simply a short-term move to appease FATF member states and ease pressure on Pakistan.

 
Ismail said Pakistan`s law-enforcement shortcomings are often confused for lack of desire, especially at provincial level, where police officers are poorly trained when it comes to terrorist financing legislation.

 
&quot;The will is there,&quot; he added.

 
Ismail ruled out Pakistan`s retaliating against Washington over the FATF listing. He said the country would keep working to improve its CTF capabilities and win the confidence of Britain, Germany and France, who co-sponsored the U.S. motion in Paris.

 
Pakistan hopes to be removed from the grey list in six to 12 months from June, when it will be officially placed on the watch list, Ismail added. 
 
Despite rising growth on the back of improving security and China`s vast infrastructure investment, Pakistan`s economy has come under renewed stress during the past year.

 
Its foreign currency reserves are shrinking and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Pakistan`s macroeconomic stability is weakening amid a ballooning current account deficit and a widening fiscal deficit.&nbsp;

 
Ismail said he did not foresee the FATF decision acting as a brake on Pakistan`s economy, which, with growth above 5 percent, is expanding at its fastest pace in a decade.

 
&quot;I would rather not be in the list, but I don&rsquo;t think it will hurt&quot; economic growth, Ismail said, adding that ordinary Pakistanis would not see any impact from the FATF move.

 
He conceded, however, that being placed on the watch list did not help Pakistan`s tarnished image abroad, and &quot;doesn`t help&quot; with its efforts to attract more foreign direct investment, a major goal of the government.

 
But he urged foreign investors to look past the negative headlines, and pointed out that Pakistan`s economic growth accelerated even during the period the country was last on the watch list. From 2012-2015, exports and foreign currency reserves expanded, while its stock market shot up by more than 200 percent, he said.

 
&quot;We are focused on improving our economy and overcoming this little hiccup,&quot; he said. &quot;We will continue on our path forward.&quot;

The diplomatic setback has sparked anger in Islamabad against the United States, which championed the motion against Pakistan at the FATF meeting in Paris.

Pakistan's de facto finance minister, Miftah Ismail, has brushed off concerns that economic growth will suffer because of the country`s re-inclusion on a terrorist financing watch list, and lashed out against the United States for seeking to "embarrass" his nation. Washington last week persuaded member states of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to place Pakistan back on the "grey list" of nations with inadequate terrorist financing or money laundering controls. Pakistan was on the list for three years, until 2015. The diplomatic setback has sparked anger in Islamabad against the United States, which championed the motion against Pakistan at the FATF meeting in Paris. It represented another blow to the worsening relationship between the uneasy allies, who have long differed on how to combat Islamist militants waging war in Afghanistan. It has also heightened concerns that Pakistan is becoming internationally isolated, and that its economy could suffer if global banking intuitions cut links with the nuclear-armed nation, or otherwise increase the cost of doing business with Pakistan. Ismail, officially the adviser on finance, revenue and economic affairs to Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi, led Pakistan's negotiations in Paris. He told Reuters that Washington did not seem genuinely eager to see Pakistan boost its terrorist financing regulations and was instead bent on humiliating the country. "If the Americans were interested in working with us and improving our CTF (counter-terrorist financing) regulations, they would have taken the offer I was making them," Ismail said. "But their idea was just to embarrass Pakistan." Diplomatic and Pakistani government sources say Pakistan fended off a US-led motion on Tuesday as Turkey, China and the Gulf Cooperation Countries (GCC) countries objected to it. But in a break from tradition, the motion was brought up again on Thursday and passed as the GCC and China dropped their objections. Ismail said that he urged the United States to allow Pakistan until June to fix any outstanding CTF issues and ceded ground in negotiations to strike a deal, but that the U.S. was determined to see Pakistan suffer. US officials say Pakistan remains weak on terrorist financing prosecutions and has not done enough to combat money-raising capabilities of Islamic charities controlled by Hafiz Saeed, whom the U.S. has designated a terrorist. The officials blame Saeed for the 2008 Mumbai attacks, which killed 166 people. In the run-up to the FATF meeting, Pakistan sought to gain favour by seizing control of parts of Saeed's Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) charities, which the United States terms "terrorist fronts" for militant group Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT). Saeed, who founded LeT in 1980s, denies orchestrating the Mumbai attacks. Diplomats have cast doubt on whether the takeovers are long-lasting, or simply a short-term move to appease FATF member states and ease pressure on Pakistan. Ismail said Pakistan`s law-enforcement shortcomings are often confused for lack of desire, especially at provincial level, where police officers are poorly trained when it comes to terrorist financing legislation. "The will is there," he added. Ismail ruled out Pakistan`s retaliating against Washington over the FATF listing. He said the country would keep working to improve its CTF capabilities and win the confidence of Britain, Germany and France, who co-sponsored the U.S. motion in Paris. Pakistan hopes to be removed from the grey list in six to 12 months from June, when it will be officially placed on the watch list, Ismail added. Despite rising growth on the back of improving security and China`s vast infrastructure investment, Pakistan`s economy has come under renewed stress during the past year. Its foreign currency reserves are shrinking and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) has warned Pakistan`s macroeconomic stability is weakening amid a ballooning current account deficit and a widening fiscal deficit. Ismail said he did not foresee the FATF decision acting as a brake on Pakistan`s economy, which, with growth above 5 percent, is expanding at its fastest pace in a decade. "I would rather not be in the list, but I don’t think it will hurt" economic growth, Ismail said, adding that ordinary Pakistanis would not see any impact from the FATF move. He conceded, however, that being placed on the watch list did not help Pakistan`s tarnished image abroad, and "doesn`t help" with its efforts to attract more foreign direct investment, a major goal of the government. But he urged foreign investors to look past the negative headlines, and pointed out that Pakistan`s economic growth accelerated even during the period the country was last on the watch list. From 2012-2015, exports and foreign currency reserves expanded, while its stock market shot up by more than 200 percent, he said. "We are focused on improving our economy and overcoming this little hiccup," he said. "We will continue on our path forward."

US move to embarrass us on FATF, says Pak's Paris negotiator

When the Plenary meeting of Financial Action Task Force started in Paris on 18th February 2018, they had an important matter to discuss. In 2012, it had put Pakistan, the &#39;nuclear-powered&#39; nation, in its Terror Financing Watchdog list as grey. The effect caused a significant damage to their economy and after three years in 2015, it was finally bailed out because of country&rsquo;s repeated assurances and influence of some of the world leaders.&nbsp;

As a cautionary advice, Pakistan was told to crack down on Terror Financing or else face the threat to be put on the list again. One of the main agenda for the February 2018 Plenary sitting was to discuss this as Pakistan failed to act drastically. Jamat-Ud-Dawah, Taliban, and Haqqani network took advantages of Pakistan&rsquo;s poor anti-money laundering laws to promote terrorism globally.

Unlike other international organisations, Financial Action Task Force for Money Laundering (FATF) was formed by G-7 Countries in 1989 to primarily target money laundering and since a significant portion of money laundering goes to fund terror activities, terror financing became an integral part of FATF discussions. Immediately after 9/11, FATF drafted 8 recommendations to stop terror financing and since then its Financial Intelligence Unit had been monitoring the financial network of various terrorist organisations worldwide.&nbsp;

As on date, it has 35 permanent members and two regional organisations named European Union and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) which are being represented by Saudi Arabia. As per the rules of FATF, any motion brought by a country can only be opposed by a minimum of three members.&nbsp;

Pakistan was threatened by the bill proposed by the United States to put the country back on Grey list of FATF. Their economy was going through the worst phase since 2012. The government is unstable and their debt is rising sharply. The external debt which was close to $66 Billion is now going to touch $100 Billion anytime and Current Account Deficit (CAD) which was less than a $ Billion in 2012 is now eager to cross the mark of $5 Billion. The economy is supported by some of the international Banks and financial organisations which are expected to have a negative effect in case of passing of this bill. Ultimately, foreign transactions are expected to decline which may result in widening the CAD significantly.&nbsp;

It was a do or die situation and, hence, Pakistan started campaigning among countries friendly to it in order to turn down the motion. Its ministers and diplomats made trips to China, Turkey, Malaysia, Russian Federation and members of GCC to garner support. Some of them assured the support too and as a result when on 18th February 2018, at the first meeting, when the United States of America proposed the bill for putting Pakistan in the grey list of terror financing countries, it received a strong opposition from China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia who was representing GCC. Since the opposition of this bill required three countries, it was destined to be rejected.&nbsp;

One of the representatives of these countries even informed Pakistan that the country will be bailed out this time and, in rejoice, one of their ministers tweeted too but the outcome had not been announced yet. The international diplomacy hasn&rsquo;t started yet. India is a permanent member of FATF and, on seeing this, partnered with the US and pursued hard to turn down the opposition. Soon the first talks were held with Saudi Arabia to convince it. It was reportedly said that United States offered Saudi Arabia a permanent seat in FATF in case it supports the move and the carrot diplomacy paid up. Saudi Arabia assured to back the bill.&nbsp;

The only two countries left were China and Turkey and it was a tricky situation for China now. In the absence of Saudi Arabian support, the bill was expected to be passed and in such case both the opposing countries would have been labelled&nbsp;as supporters of terrorism. So, for the sheer face-saving, China also agreed to support the move. However, it did try to negotiate with US and India to justify its stand.

As soon as the US was sure of getting the bill passed, it called another meeting on 22nd February 2018 and arranged for voting. The motion passed by 36-1 and only Turkey opposed it. FATF decided to put Pakistan on the FATF Grey list of terror financing countries with effect from June 2018 as the process and formal announcement takes time.&nbsp;

While this move is welcomed and will be helpful in cracking down on terror financing, it is highly detrimental to the economy of Pakistan too. On one hand it will discourage new potential investors to come to Pakistan and on the other hand, the existing investors will wary of transacting with Pakistani Banks. Assessing funds from International Agencies like IMF will be much tougher as they will put more conditions to be fulfilled before releasing the funds. International financial institutions which form a major part of Pakistan economy might decide to pull out in due course of time and even if they don&rsquo;t pull out immediately, their due diligence in disbursement will become much stricter.&nbsp;

International rating agencies are going to downgrade Pakistan for sure which may affect international transactions and foreign-exchange inflow and ultimately the CAD and Pakistan economy.&nbsp;

In case, it does not show visible signs of improvement after June 2018, Pakistan may further go into the Blacklist of Countries financing terrorism which will call for worldwide sanctions and act as a doomsday for Pakistan. The country is going to polls this year and there is no stable government to take strong financial decisions. With the disqualification of former PM over the corruption and money laundering charges and absence of any other strong leader, it is likely that the new government may be a puppet in the hands of Pakistan Army or the radical elements. If any such situation arises, it will be impossible for Pakistan to recover. 
&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

After Pakistan has been dragged back to FATF grey list of terror financing, International rating agencies are going to downgrade Pakistan which will affect international transactions, foreign-exchange inflow, CAD, and Pakistan economy as a whole.

When the Plenary meeting of Financial Action Task Force started in Paris on 18th February 2018, they had an important matter to discuss. In 2012, it had put Pakistan, the 'nuclear-powered' nation, in its Terror Financing Watchdog list as grey. The effect caused a significant damage to their economy and after three years in 2015, it was finally bailed out because of country’s repeated assurances and influence of some of the world leaders. As a cautionary advice, Pakistan was told to crack down on Terror Financing or else face the threat to be put on the list again. One of the main agenda for the February 2018 Plenary sitting was to discuss this as Pakistan failed to act drastically. Jamat-Ud-Dawah, Taliban, and Haqqani network took advantages of Pakistan’s poor anti-money laundering laws to promote terrorism globally. Unlike other international organisations, Financial Action Task Force for Money Laundering (FATF) was formed by G-7 Countries in 1989 to primarily target money laundering and since a significant portion of money laundering goes to fund terror activities, terror financing became an integral part of FATF discussions. Immediately after 9/11, FATF drafted 8 recommendations to stop terror financing and since then its Financial Intelligence Unit had been monitoring the financial network of various terrorist organisations worldwide. As on date, it has 35 permanent members and two regional organisations named European Union and Gulf Co-operation Council (GCC) which are being represented by Saudi Arabia. As per the rules of FATF, any motion brought by a country can only be opposed by a minimum of three members. Pakistan was threatened by the bill proposed by the United States to put the country back on Grey list of FATF. Their economy was going through the worst phase since 2012. The government is unstable and their debt is rising sharply. The external debt which was close to $66 Billion is now going to touch $100 Billion anytime and Current Account Deficit (CAD) which was less than a $ Billion in 2012 is now eager to cross the mark of $5 Billion. The economy is supported by some of the international Banks and financial organisations which are expected to have a negative effect in case of passing of this bill. Ultimately, foreign transactions are expected to decline which may result in widening the CAD significantly. It was a do or die situation and, hence, Pakistan started campaigning among countries friendly to it in order to turn down the motion. Its ministers and diplomats made trips to China, Turkey, Malaysia, Russian Federation and members of GCC to garner support. Some of them assured the support too and as a result when on 18th February 2018, at the first meeting, when the United States of America proposed the bill for putting Pakistan in the grey list of terror financing countries, it received a strong opposition from China, Turkey and Saudi Arabia who was representing GCC. Since the opposition of this bill required three countries, it was destined to be rejected. One of the representatives of these countries even informed Pakistan that the country will be bailed out this time and, in rejoice, one of their ministers tweeted too but the outcome had not been announced yet. The international diplomacy hasn’t started yet. India is a permanent member of FATF and, on seeing this, partnered with the US and pursued hard to turn down the opposition. Soon the first talks were held with Saudi Arabia to convince it. It was reportedly said that United States offered Saudi Arabia a permanent seat in FATF in case it supports the move and the carrot diplomacy paid up. Saudi Arabia assured to back the bill. The only two countries left were China and Turkey and it was a tricky situation for China now. In the absence of Saudi Arabian support, the bill was expected to be passed and in such case both the opposing countries would have been labelled as supporters of terrorism. So, for the sheer face-saving, China also agreed to support the move. However, it did try to negotiate with US and India to justify its stand. As soon as the US was sure of getting the bill passed, it called another meeting on 22nd February 2018 and arranged for voting. The motion passed by 36-1 and only Turkey opposed it. FATF decided to put Pakistan on the FATF Grey list of terror financing countries with effect from June 2018 as the process and formal announcement takes time. While this move is welcomed and will be helpful in cracking down on terror financing, it is highly detrimental to the economy of Pakistan too. On one hand it will discourage new potential investors to come to Pakistan and on the other hand, the existing investors will wary of transacting with Pakistani Banks. Assessing funds from International Agencies like IMF will be much tougher as they will put more conditions to be fulfilled before releasing the funds. International financial institutions which form a major part of Pakistan economy might decide to pull out in due course of time and even if they don’t pull out immediately, their due diligence in disbursement will become much stricter. International rating agencies are going to downgrade Pakistan for sure which may affect international transactions and foreign-exchange inflow and ultimately the CAD and Pakistan economy. In case, it does not show visible signs of improvement after June 2018, Pakistan may further go into the Blacklist of Countries financing terrorism which will call for worldwide sanctions and act as a doomsday for Pakistan. The country is going to polls this year and there is no stable government to take strong financial decisions. With the disqualification of former PM over the corruption and money laundering charges and absence of any other strong leader, it is likely that the new government may be a puppet in the hands of Pakistan Army or the radical elements. If any such situation arises, it will be impossible for Pakistan to recover. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: Pakistan will face major economic loss after FATF puts it on grey list of terror financing

Pakistan is drifting towards international isolation mainly due to its policy of using groups designated by the global community as terrorist outfits as instruments of foreign policy, the media here warned today, days after a global watchdog on terrorism financing reportedly placed Islamabad on its watch-list.

&quot;The world, which includes our brotherly friends (China and Saudi Arabia) whom the foreign minister (Khawaja Asif) thanked in a prematurely triumphant tweet on Tuesday, is not impressed with what they see as this country&#39;s continued intransigence,&quot; the Dawn said in a stinging editorial, criticising the policies of the government, especially the powerful military.

Now that the news from the just-concluded round of meetings of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held in Paris has been digested, it is important to focus on the fact that both China and Saudi Arabia abandoned Pakistan during the proceedings, opening the way for the motion advanced by the United States to a grey list the country&#39;s financial system, it said.

The FATF in its report released on Friday did not mention Pakistan&#39;s name, leading to confusion about the country&#39;s status.

&quot;It is now increasingly clear that Pakistan is drifting towards international isolation mainly due to its policy of using groups designated by the world community as terrorist outfits as instruments of foreign policy,&quot; the prominent newspaper commented.

&quot;This is precisely the state of affairs that the civilian government has been trying to warn the security establishment about for a number of years now, including in a series of meetings in late 2016, but evidently, these conversations did not lead to the desired actions,&quot; it noted. 
 
The FATF has been asking Pakistan to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1267 ever since the country was taken out of the grey list&nbsp;back in 2015. Once that act was passed in 2015, the next step was action against those groups and individuals that had been designated as terrorists by the United Nations.

The warnings are now pouring in continuously to act against militant groups, or risk international isolation. Pakistan would do well to heed them for its own sake, it said.

Another newspaper, The News, commented that Pakistan needs to reflect seriously about the consequences of its inaction against terrorist finance. The failure to curb terrorism finance is something that the country accepts internally.

&quot;There have been constant pleas within the government apparatus to come up with measures to combat the free flow of terrorist finance. But these efforts remain beset by contradictions,&quot; it said.

Currently, the offending entity seems to be the free operation of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its charity wing JuD, it said.

The group (JuD) was able to launch a political party this year and has not faced action from the state akin to a serious clampdown. Cosmetic action has continued to be taken, which is why the international community remains unconvinced by the presidential ordinance putting Pakistan&#39;s terrorist organisation list in compliance with the UN list and the recent seizing of LeT assets, the paper said.

&quot;The optics are not convincing. However, there is little evidence that Pakistan is doing worse that it was in 2015 when it was taken off the grey list,&quot; The News commented. 
 
The Nation, another leading Pakistani newspaper, in an editorial said, &quot;This is a time to reflect upon the flawed policies which brought us to such a brink of panic.&quot;

&quot;The mainstreaming of terrorist and extremist factions, to the point that we tolerated their large participation in our election process, is what has put us in this situation today,&quot; it said.

&quot;It is time that Pakistan actively pushes against these liabilities that are causing us so much damage,&quot; it commented.

The actions Pakistan took this last month, such as promulgating an ordinance banning JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and his party, as a last-minute attempt to evade the FATF list, must be doubled down and implemented, it added.&nbsp;

The news comes days after a global watchdog on terrorism financing reportedly placed Islamabad on its watch-list

Pakistan is drifting towards international isolation mainly due to its policy of using groups designated by the global community as terrorist outfits as instruments of foreign policy, the media here warned today, days after a global watchdog on terrorism financing reportedly placed Islamabad on its watch-list. "The world, which includes our brotherly friends (China and Saudi Arabia) whom the foreign minister (Khawaja Asif) thanked in a prematurely triumphant tweet on Tuesday, is not impressed with what they see as this country's continued intransigence," the Dawn said in a stinging editorial, criticising the policies of the government, especially the powerful military. Now that the news from the just-concluded round of meetings of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) held in Paris has been digested, it is important to focus on the fact that both China and Saudi Arabia abandoned Pakistan during the proceedings, opening the way for the motion advanced by the United States to a grey list the country's financial system, it said. The FATF in its report released on Friday did not mention Pakistan's name, leading to confusion about the country's status. "It is now increasingly clear that Pakistan is drifting towards international isolation mainly due to its policy of using groups designated by the world community as terrorist outfits as instruments of foreign policy," the prominent newspaper commented. "This is precisely the state of affairs that the civilian government has been trying to warn the security establishment about for a number of years now, including in a series of meetings in late 2016, but evidently, these conversations did not lead to the desired actions," it noted. The FATF has been asking Pakistan to fully implement UN Security Council Resolution 1267 ever since the country was taken out of the grey list back in 2015. Once that act was passed in 2015, the next step was action against those groups and individuals that had been designated as terrorists by the United Nations. The warnings are now pouring in continuously to act against militant groups, or risk international isolation. Pakistan would do well to heed them for its own sake, it said. Another newspaper, The News, commented that Pakistan needs to reflect seriously about the consequences of its inaction against terrorist finance. The failure to curb terrorism finance is something that the country accepts internally. "There have been constant pleas within the government apparatus to come up with measures to combat the free flow of terrorist finance. But these efforts remain beset by contradictions," it said. Currently, the offending entity seems to be the free operation of Lashkar-e-Taiba and its charity wing JuD, it said. The group (JuD) was able to launch a political party this year and has not faced action from the state akin to a serious clampdown. Cosmetic action has continued to be taken, which is why the international community remains unconvinced by the presidential ordinance putting Pakistan's terrorist organisation list in compliance with the UN list and the recent seizing of LeT assets, the paper said. "The optics are not convincing. However, there is little evidence that Pakistan is doing worse that it was in 2015 when it was taken off the grey list," The News commented. The Nation, another leading Pakistani newspaper, in an editorial said, "This is a time to reflect upon the flawed policies which brought us to such a brink of panic." "The mainstreaming of terrorist and extremist factions, to the point that we tolerated their large participation in our election process, is what has put us in this situation today," it said. "It is time that Pakistan actively pushes against these liabilities that are causing us so much damage," it commented. The actions Pakistan took this last month, such as promulgating an ordinance banning JuD chief Hafiz Saeed and his party, as a last-minute attempt to evade the FATF list, must be doubled down and implemented, it added.

Pakistan media blasts government for using terror groups as instruments of foreign policy

In a blow to<a href="http://www.wionews.com/south-asia/pakistan-given-three-month-reprieve-over-terrorist-financing-watchlist-minister-33545"> Pakistan&#39;s strained relations with the United States</a>,&nbsp;the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money-laundering watchdog, has placed Pakistan back on its terrorist financing watchlist, Indian media and a diplomatic source said on Friday.

The move, which could hamper Pakistan&#39;s banking and hurt foreign investment, is part of a broader US strategy to put pressure on Pakistan to cut alleged links to Islamist militants operating in neighbouring Afghanistan.

A non-Indian diplomatic source from one of the FATF countries told Reuters that the group had decided Pakistan would be put back on the watchlist.

Earlier in the week China, Turkey, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were opposing the US-led move against Pakistan but by Thursday night both China and the GCC dropped their opposition, the diplomatic source said.

&quot;The decision was taken yesterday,&quot; the diplomat said.

He added that the financial consequences would not kick in until June, which, in theory, could allow Pakistan the wriggle room to fix the terrorist financing issues. &quot;But the odds of that, particularly in an election year, seem slim,&quot; he added.

An official statement is expected later on Friday.

Washington has spent the past week lobbying member countries of the FATF to place Pakistan on the so-called &quot;grey list&quot; of nations that are not doing enough to combat terrorism financing.

The news comes days after reports that Pakistan had been given a three-month reprieve before being placed on the list.

On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted that Pakistan had received a 3-month reprieve, adding that it was 
&quot;grateful to friends who helped&quot;.

Pakistan&#39;s last-minute efforts to avoid being placed on the list, which included taking over bodies linked to terrorist Hafiz Saeed, proved insufficient, media reports said.&nbsp;

Islamabad tried to prevent the action against it by amending its anti-terrorism laws and by taking over organizations controlled by the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people.&nbsp;

Under FATF rules one country&#39;s opposition is not enough to prevent a motion from being successful. Britain, France and Germany backed the US move.

Pakistan was previously on the list for three years until 2015.

Pakistani officials and analysts fear being on the FATF watchlist could endanger its handful of remaining banking links to the outside world, impacting its economy ahead of a general election in the summer.

(With inputs from Reuters)

In a blow to Pakistan's strained relations with the United States, the Financial Action Task Force, a global money-laundering watchdog, has placed Pakistan back on its terrorist financing watchlist, Indian media and a diplomatic source said on Friday

In a blow to Pakistan's strained relations with the United States, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global money-laundering watchdog, has placed Pakistan back on its terrorist financing watchlist, Indian media and a diplomatic source said on Friday. The move, which could hamper Pakistan's banking and hurt foreign investment, is part of a broader US strategy to put pressure on Pakistan to cut alleged links to Islamist militants operating in neighbouring Afghanistan. A non-Indian diplomatic source from one of the FATF countries told Reuters that the group had decided Pakistan would be put back on the watchlist. Earlier in the week China, Turkey, and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) were opposing the US-led move against Pakistan but by Thursday night both China and the GCC dropped their opposition, the diplomatic source said. "The decision was taken yesterday," the diplomat said. He added that the financial consequences would not kick in until June, which, in theory, could allow Pakistan the wriggle room to fix the terrorist financing issues. "But the odds of that, particularly in an election year, seem slim," he added. An official statement is expected later on Friday. Washington has spent the past week lobbying member countries of the FATF to place Pakistan on the so-called "grey list" of nations that are not doing enough to combat terrorism financing. The news comes days after reports that Pakistan had been given a three-month reprieve before being placed on the list. On Tuesday, Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted that Pakistan had received a 3-month reprieve, adding that it was "grateful to friends who helped". Pakistan's last-minute efforts to avoid being placed on the list, which included taking over bodies linked to terrorist Hafiz Saeed, proved insufficient, media reports said. Islamabad tried to prevent the action against it by amending its anti-terrorism laws and by taking over organizations controlled by the Lashkar-e-Taiba chief and mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks that killed 166 people. Under FATF rules one country's opposition is not enough to prevent a motion from being successful. Britain, France and Germany backed the US move. Pakistan was previously on the list for three years until 2015. Pakistani officials and analysts fear being on the FATF watchlist could endanger its handful of remaining banking links to the outside world, impacting its economy ahead of a general election in the summer. (With inputs from Reuters)

Pakistan back on global terrorist financing watchlist: Reports

From 2012-15, the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on Global Terror Financing Watchdog List. Though they dropped Pakistan from the list for a couple of years, they kept threatening them to put their house in order. The action of FATF shows that, at last, the global community has realised the role of Pakistan in terror financing, and is ready to take stern action against it. The country will be at the receiving end of the FATF Plenary and Working Group meeting on 18-23 February 2018 in Paris.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Pakistan, since its very inception, had been relying on non-state elements for spreading unrest in India. During the 1947 annexation of Kashmir, they used paid mercenaries and tribesman, in Operation Gibraltar of 1965 there was the Kashmiri Militia, in 1971, they operated as Razakars in East Pakistan. In the late seventies, Pakistan raised large armies of Mujahedeen&rsquo;s to fight against the Soviet forces, in eighties they started sending terrorists in India and in the 21st century they were supporting Taliban, Al- Qaeda and ISIS, globally.

&nbsp;

So, sadly for Pakistan, be it the military or the political establishment, more often than not, there is an inseparable amalgamation of ultra-radical religious preachers and terror outfits. This support for religious radicalism has made the country a hub terror financing for very long. Then there is virtually any stringent money laundering law in the country.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Several of the money laundering activities are directly connected with terror financing. The government, however, pretends that they are acting against terrorism by launching various military operations but their actions against financing of terror are never prioritised and pursued structurally.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The fact of the matter is, Pakistan continues to lack the adequate resources required to map, track or stop terror financing of organisations, such as Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other similar terror organisations operating worldwide. Hence, these outfits are using this opportunity to make Pakistan a hub for their financial transaction.&nbsp; &nbsp;

&nbsp;

A major source of terror financing in Pakistan comes from proceeds of crime, hawala, illegal remittance, kidnapping for ransom, smuggling, extortion and proceeds of drug sales. The second most significant source is the siphoning off charities given by the Gulf countries to the NGOs.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Since the Ultra-radical religious groups are strong in Pakistan, the government had always avoided taking any action against them. Some immediate actions are taken under the pressure of international community but they are relaxed immediately after the matter is cooled down. Also, since it does not have the resource or legal provisions to do this and terror organisations know this, it becomes much easier for them to play the dirty game.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Ironically, over last so many decades, not only terrorist organisations but the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had been using these sources of terror finance to fuel terror activities in India. Imagine a situation where the government itself is involved in terror financing, it is impossible that they will act against such elements themselves.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

If we study this financial mechanism, there are various terror financing channels operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan.&nbsp; These work openly in the disguise of charitable organisations and are protected by tribal laws. The primary responsibility of investigating them lies with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan which is not free from political rivalry and, hence, the onus ultimately comes on the local provincial police to plug these channels. However, the limited capabilities of local police in Pakistan to act against these very powerful and ruthless terror financing bodies have failed to bring an end to the practise.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

We have several examples where even after major terror attacks, Pakistani authorities failed to track the terror financing related to the incident. Recently, on 23rd June 2017, a strong car bomb went off in a busy street in Quetta Pakistan, killing 14 people on the spot. Investigations reveal that cash payment was made for the car, bomb and logistics involved in the blast. Though the FIA conducted investigations to find out the perpetrators of this attack and blamed some terror organisations, no investigation was conducted to examine the source of funding by the concerned terrorist group.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Pakistan has established its first Financial Intelligence Unit (FMU) recently in 2007 but it has not been given adequate attention. As a result, the unit is still in its nascent stage and not able to perform to the expectations of the world. They lack staff, resources and, most importantly, a mandate to freely investigate the financial frauds.

&nbsp;

Not only this, the first Anti- Money Laundering Ordinance of Pakistan was created in September 2007. Prior to it, there was no legal provision to control these kinds of activities. Surprisingly, the scope and range of offences under this act are still too narrow, which gives an easy escape route to any terror organisation or individual.

&nbsp;

As far as role of Pakistan against Money Laundering and terror financing is concerned, they are bound to follow United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 which prescribes sanctions against Al-Qaeda and Taliban. However, Pakistan government had badly failed to act on the financial front because it has still not ratified the UN convention on the suppression of terrorism financing.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

The main loophole in the Pakistani Anti Money Laundering law is that while there is a wide range of Pakistani acts criminalising terror financing, there is no criminalisation of individual terrorists or terrorist organisations other than the ones proscribed in the UNSCR 1267. Hence, the organisations kept changing their names and continue to run their activities.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

We have the live examples how Lashkar-E-Taiba changed the names to Jamat-Ud-Dawa and then to other organisations and continued to run its huge terror financing budget of over 8 Million US $ to cause unrest in India.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

So what does Pakistan needs to do to curb terror financing?

&nbsp;

The first and foremost thing Pakistan must understand is that there is no good or bad terrorism. Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba/ Jaish-e-Mohammad are equally rogue groups and it needs to act against all of them with an iron fist.

The second thing required is establishing a concrete mechanism and empowering its FMU to investigate financial frauds and terror financing trails.

&nbsp;

Furthermore, it needs to strengthen its laws to ensure more stringent examination and enforcement of practice. The cross-border transportation of currencies must be brought to a stop. It must also implement UNSCR 1373 to curb terror financing activities of all groups in addition to the ones prescribed in UNSCR 1267.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

Lastly, the most important thing is a nationwide and political will in Pakistan to strictly act against radical Islamic organisations and all kinds of terror groups. If the actions are not taken immediately, the day is not far when our neighbour will figure at the top of the list of states which are seen as sponsoring terrorism, and join the league of North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria. It will be the worst nightmare for Pakistan as well as for India. Heaven knows as Pakistan&#39;s neighbour, India bears the worst burns of state-sponsored terrorist activities.&nbsp;

&nbsp;

(Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

There are various terror financing channels operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan. These work openly in the disguise of charitable organisations and are protected by tribal laws.

From 2012-15, the global Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on Global Terror Financing Watchdog List. Though they dropped Pakistan from the list for a couple of years, they kept threatening them to put their house in order. The action of FATF shows that, at last, the global community has realised the role of Pakistan in terror financing, and is ready to take stern action against it. The country will be at the receiving end of the FATF Plenary and Working Group meeting on 18-23 February 2018 in Paris. Pakistan, since its very inception, had been relying on non-state elements for spreading unrest in India. During the 1947 annexation of Kashmir, they used paid mercenaries and tribesman, in Operation Gibraltar of 1965 there was the Kashmiri Militia, in 1971, they operated as Razakars in East Pakistan. In the late seventies, Pakistan raised large armies of Mujahedeen’s to fight against the Soviet forces, in eighties they started sending terrorists in India and in the 21st century they were supporting Taliban, Al- Qaeda and ISIS, globally. So, sadly for Pakistan, be it the military or the political establishment, more often than not, there is an inseparable amalgamation of ultra-radical religious preachers and terror outfits. This support for religious radicalism has made the country a hub terror financing for very long. Then there is virtually any stringent money laundering law in the country. Several of the money laundering activities are directly connected with terror financing. The government, however, pretends that they are acting against terrorism by launching various military operations but their actions against financing of terror are never prioritised and pursued structurally. The fact of the matter is, Pakistan continues to lack the adequate resources required to map, track or stop terror financing of organisations, such as Taliban, Al-Qaeda, ISIS and other similar terror organisations operating worldwide. Hence, these outfits are using this opportunity to make Pakistan a hub for their financial transaction. A major source of terror financing in Pakistan comes from proceeds of crime, hawala, illegal remittance, kidnapping for ransom, smuggling, extortion and proceeds of drug sales. The second most significant source is the siphoning off charities given by the Gulf countries to the NGOs. Since the Ultra-radical religious groups are strong in Pakistan, the government had always avoided taking any action against them. Some immediate actions are taken under the pressure of international community but they are relaxed immediately after the matter is cooled down. Also, since it does not have the resource or legal provisions to do this and terror organisations know this, it becomes much easier for them to play the dirty game. Ironically, over last so many decades, not only terrorist organisations but the Pakistani Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI) had been using these sources of terror finance to fuel terror activities in India. Imagine a situation where the government itself is involved in terror financing, it is impossible that they will act against such elements themselves. If we study this financial mechanism, there are various terror financing channels operating between Pakistan and Afghanistan. These work openly in the disguise of charitable organisations and are protected by tribal laws. The primary responsibility of investigating them lies with the Federal Investigation Agency (FIA) of Pakistan which is not free from political rivalry and, hence, the onus ultimately comes on the local provincial police to plug these channels. However, the limited capabilities of local police in Pakistan to act against these very powerful and ruthless terror financing bodies have failed to bring an end to the practise. We have several examples where even after major terror attacks, Pakistani authorities failed to track the terror financing related to the incident. Recently, on 23rd June 2017, a strong car bomb went off in a busy street in Quetta Pakistan, killing 14 people on the spot. Investigations reveal that cash payment was made for the car, bomb and logistics involved in the blast. Though the FIA conducted investigations to find out the perpetrators of this attack and blamed some terror organisations, no investigation was conducted to examine the source of funding by the concerned terrorist group. Pakistan has established its first Financial Intelligence Unit (FMU) recently in 2007 but it has not been given adequate attention. As a result, the unit is still in its nascent stage and not able to perform to the expectations of the world. They lack staff, resources and, most importantly, a mandate to freely investigate the financial frauds. Not only this, the first Anti- Money Laundering Ordinance of Pakistan was created in September 2007. Prior to it, there was no legal provision to control these kinds of activities. Surprisingly, the scope and range of offences under this act are still too narrow, which gives an easy escape route to any terror organisation or individual. As far as role of Pakistan against Money Laundering and terror financing is concerned, they are bound to follow United Nations Security Council Resolution 1267 which prescribes sanctions against Al-Qaeda and Taliban. However, Pakistan government had badly failed to act on the financial front because it has still not ratified the UN convention on the suppression of terrorism financing. The main loophole in the Pakistani Anti Money Laundering law is that while there is a wide range of Pakistani acts criminalising terror financing, there is no criminalisation of individual terrorists or terrorist organisations other than the ones proscribed in the UNSCR 1267. Hence, the organisations kept changing their names and continue to run their activities. We have the live examples how Lashkar-E-Taiba changed the names to Jamat-Ud-Dawa and then to other organisations and continued to run its huge terror financing budget of over 8 Million US $ to cause unrest in India. So what does Pakistan needs to do to curb terror financing? The first and foremost thing Pakistan must understand is that there is no good or bad terrorism. Taliban, Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan, Al-Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Toiba/ Jaish-e-Mohammad are equally rogue groups and it needs to act against all of them with an iron fist. The second thing required is establishing a concrete mechanism and empowering its FMU to investigate financial frauds and terror financing trails. Furthermore, it needs to strengthen its laws to ensure more stringent examination and enforcement of practice. The cross-border transportation of currencies must be brought to a stop. It must also implement UNSCR 1373 to curb terror financing activities of all groups in addition to the ones prescribed in UNSCR 1267. Lastly, the most important thing is a nationwide and political will in Pakistan to strictly act against radical Islamic organisations and all kinds of terror groups. If the actions are not taken immediately, the day is not far when our neighbour will figure at the top of the list of states which are seen as sponsoring terrorism, and join the league of North Korea, Iran, Sudan and Syria. It will be the worst nightmare for Pakistan as well as for India. Heaven knows as Pakistan's neighbour, India bears the worst burns of state-sponsored terrorist activities. (Disclaimer: The opinions expressed above are the personal views of the author and do not reflect the views of ZMCL)

Opinion: This is why Pakistan needs to be put on global terrorist financing watchlist

The Intergovernmental agency Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed Pakistan on its grey list for terror financing on Thursday, sources said on Thursday.

The FATF is an international policy-making and standard-setting body dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing.

At the Financial Action Task Force, a lot of countries have come together and they look at various nations who we believe and those other countries believe are not doing enough to crack down on terror financing.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Financial Action Task Force(FATF) has taken decision to put Pakistan on grey list for terror financing: Sources <a href="https://t.co/KC50KRSXs4">pic.twitter.com/KC50KRSXs4</a>
&mdash; ANI (@ANI) <a href="https://twitter.com/ANI/status/966950568802439168?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 23, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

In a big blow to Pakistan, even China didn&#39;t support its all-weather-friend as only Turkey voted against the US&#39; motion.

Earlier, Pakistani Foreign Minister had tweeted that the country has been given three-month reprieve over the US-led motion in FATF. &ldquo;Our efforts paid, FATF Paris 20 Feb meeting conclusion on the US-led motion to put Pakistan on a watch list - no consensus for nominating Pakistan, proposing 3months pause &amp; asking APG for another report to be considered in June. Grateful to friends who helped,&rdquo; he said.

<div class="ui-state-default" contenteditable="false">
<div class="twitter-block" draggable="false">
<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-lang="en">
Our efforts paid,FATF Paris 20Feb meeting conclusion on US led motion to put Pakistan on watch list 
-No consensus for nominating Pakistan 
-proposing 3months pause &amp;asking APG for another report to b considered in June الحمداللہ 
Grateful to friends who helped
&mdash; Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) <a href="https://twitter.com/KhawajaMAsif/status/966030847949398016?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">February 20, 2018</a></blockquote>
<script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script></div>
<a class="close-mark close-div" href="#" id="jqclosemark">&times;</a></div>

&nbsp;

The FATF is an international policy-making and standard-setting body dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing

The Intergovernmental agency Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has placed Pakistan on its grey list for terror financing on Thursday, sources said on Thursday. The FATF is an international policy-making and standard-setting body dedicated to combating money laundering and terrorist financing. At the Financial Action Task Force, a lot of countries have come together and they look at various nations who we believe and those other countries believe are not doing enough to crack down on terror financing. Financial Action Task Force(FATF) has taken decision to put Pakistan on grey list for terror financing: Sources pic.twitter.com/KC50KRSXs4 — ANI (@ANI) February 23, 2018 × In a big blow to Pakistan, even China didn't support its all-weather-friend as only Turkey voted against the US' motion. Earlier, Pakistani Foreign Minister had tweeted that the country has been given three-month reprieve over the US-led motion in FATF. “Our efforts paid, FATF Paris 20 Feb meeting conclusion on the US-led motion to put Pakistan on a watch list - no consensus for nominating Pakistan, proposing 3months pause & asking APG for another report to be considered in June. Grateful to friends who helped,” he said. Our efforts paid,FATF Paris 20Feb meeting conclusion on US led motion to put Pakistan on watch list -No consensus for nominating Pakistan -proposing 3months pause &asking APG for another report to b considered in June الحمداللہ Grateful to friends who helped — Khawaja M. Asif (@KhawajaMAsif) February 20, 2018 ×

Financial action task force puts Pakistan in the terror financing watch list: Sources

India on Saturday said that some countries have proposed to put Pakistan in the &quot;grey list&quot; of an international task force mandated to combat terror funding and money laundering.

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is meeting later this month in Paris, where it is expected to deliberate extensively on containing the spread of terrorism by choking the funding channels of terrorist groups.

&quot;There is a proposal by some countries, as a part of the FATF process, to put Pakistan in the grey list. The grey listing happens because the commitment which was given by Pakistan on actions it was supposed to take, that has not happened,&quot; External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said.

He was responding to a question on whether India is going to make any specific case against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed at the FATF meeting.

Kumar said India has shared its views with the countries and members of the FATF on this matter.

The US has also approached the FATF to put Pakistan on global terrorist-financing watch list, accusing Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups, including al-Qaeda and its affiliates.

The FATF is an inter-governmental body, which maintains &quot;grey&quot; and &quot;black&quot; lists to identify countries with weak measures to combat money laundering and terror financing. Inclusion in the grey list can lead to sanctions.

Kumar said India believes that the UNSC Resolution 1267 sanctions pertaining to money laundering and terror financing must be implemented in letter and spirit by all nations.

&quot;...And those nationals and nations, who are found wanting in implementing in their obligations and freely allowing the UN-designated terrorists and individuals to operate and raise funds, and have access to assets for the nefarious activities must be held accountable and subjected to appropriate action,&quot; he said.

Responding to a question on reports of Pakistan amending its anti-terror laws to include Hafiz Saeed-linked Jamaat-ud-Dawa on the list of UN proscribed groups, Kumar said it needs to be seen whether Islamabad is willing to &quot;walk the talk&quot;.

He said it is &quot;quite surprising&quot; that it took 10 years for Pakistan to figure out that Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is a terrorist.

&quot;In any case, I think, the timing of such declaration of Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist is a very suspect. You will have to see if they are willing to walk the talk and take concrete measures against terrorists and terror outfits which have been operating from the soil of Pakistan,&quot; he said.

Earlier this week, Pakistan launched a crackdown on seminaries and health facilities run by Saeed.

In response to a question on the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Kumar said India takes counter actions on such violations, wherever it is initiated.

Asked about the government&#39;s plan to bring back industrialists involved in money laundering cases, an apparent reference to diamantaire Nirav Modi fleeing the country amid an alleged multi-million dollar scam, Kumar said: &quot;I dont think today every question has to be linked to what questions which have come up earlier.&quot;

The force is mandated to combat terror funding and money laundering

India on Saturday said that some countries have proposed to put Pakistan in the "grey list" of an international task force mandated to combat terror funding and money laundering. The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is meeting later this month in Paris, where it is expected to deliberate extensively on containing the spread of terrorism by choking the funding channels of terrorist groups. "There is a proposal by some countries, as a part of the FATF process, to put Pakistan in the grey list. The grey listing happens because the commitment which was given by Pakistan on actions it was supposed to take, that has not happened," External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar said. He was responding to a question on whether India is going to make any specific case against 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed at the FATF meeting. Kumar said India has shared its views with the countries and members of the FATF on this matter. The US has also approached the FATF to put Pakistan on global terrorist-financing watch list, accusing Islamabad of not complying with the UN Security Council resolutions relating to terror groups, including al-Qaeda and its affiliates. The FATF is an inter-governmental body, which maintains "grey" and "black" lists to identify countries with weak measures to combat money laundering and terror financing. Inclusion in the grey list can lead to sanctions. Kumar said India believes that the UNSC Resolution 1267 sanctions pertaining to money laundering and terror financing must be implemented in letter and spirit by all nations. "...And those nationals and nations, who are found wanting in implementing in their obligations and freely allowing the UN-designated terrorists and individuals to operate and raise funds, and have access to assets for the nefarious activities must be held accountable and subjected to appropriate action," he said. Responding to a question on reports of Pakistan amending its anti-terror laws to include Hafiz Saeed-linked Jamaat-ud-Dawa on the list of UN proscribed groups, Kumar said it needs to be seen whether Islamabad is willing to "walk the talk". He said it is "quite surprising" that it took 10 years for Pakistan to figure out that Saeed, the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai attacks, is a terrorist. "In any case, I think, the timing of such declaration of Hafiz Saeed as a terrorist is a very suspect. You will have to see if they are willing to walk the talk and take concrete measures against terrorists and terror outfits which have been operating from the soil of Pakistan," he said. Earlier this week, Pakistan launched a crackdown on seminaries and health facilities run by Saeed. In response to a question on the ceasefire violations by Pakistan, Kumar said India takes counter actions on such violations, wherever it is initiated. Asked about the government's plan to bring back industrialists involved in money laundering cases, an apparent reference to diamantaire Nirav Modi fleeing the country amid an alleged multi-million dollar scam, Kumar said: "I dont think today every question has to be linked to what questions which have come up earlier."

Some countries proposed to put Pakistan in FATF 'grey list': India

The United States has reportedly <a href="http://www.wionews.com/india-news/india-to-raise-use-of-anti-tank-guided-missiles-by-pakistan-with-us-32424">put forward a motion to place</a> Pakistan on a global terrorist financing watchlist at the Financial Action Task Force &nbsp;(FATF) meeting due to take place in Paris next week, newswire Reuters reported.

FATF <a href="http://www.wionews.com/world/us-moves-bill-to-end-non-defence-aid-to-pakistan-32055">is an international inter-governmental body</a> tasked with countering money laundering and terrorist financing.

The US move was&nbsp;confirmed by senior Pakistani officials, Reuters said.

Pakistan was on the FATF watchlist from 2012 to 2015. Experts feel inclusion of Pakistan on the list would hit hits economy as investors would pull away from the country and it would make it tough for Islamabad to borrow money which is likely to put additional pressure on the government.

FATF had earlier warned Pakistan it would put it back on the watchlist even as several US officials including President Trump openly declared the country wasn&#39;t doing enough to stop terrorist activity on its soil.

State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: &quot;the US has consistently expressed our long-standing concern about ongoing deficiencies in Pakistan&rsquo;s implementation of its anti-money laundering/counterterrorism finance regime.&quot;

&quot;In addition to broader systemic concerns, this also includes Pakistan&rsquo;s non-compliance with its commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 1267,&quot; &nbsp;Nauert added.

Reuters quoted a spokesperson at the US embassy in Islamabad saying that the United States was &quot;absolutely not&quot; acting on behalf of India.

Meanwhile, US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said Pakistan&#39;s military is holding back counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States while continuing to go easy on militant groups inside its territory.

&quot;Pakistan-based militant groups continue to take advantage of their safe haven to conduct attacks in India, in Afghanistan, and including US interests therein,&quot; Coats said.

Coats added that the US had announced terror designations in recent weeks on eight members of the Taliban, the Haqqani Network and other groups, aiming to boost pressure on the militants&#39; abilities to operate.

&nbsp;

 
<iframe allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/ubuo9N9rYAI" width="560"></iframe> 
&nbsp;

&nbsp;

FATF is an international inter-governmental body tasked with countering money laundering and terrorist financing.

The United States has reportedly put forward a motion to place Pakistan on a global terrorist financing watchlist at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting due to take place in Paris next week, newswire Reuters reported. FATF is an international inter-governmental body tasked with countering money laundering and terrorist financing. The US move was confirmed by senior Pakistani officials, Reuters said. Pakistan was on the FATF watchlist from 2012 to 2015. Experts feel inclusion of Pakistan on the list would hit hits economy as investors would pull away from the country and it would make it tough for Islamabad to borrow money which is likely to put additional pressure on the government. FATF had earlier warned Pakistan it would put it back on the watchlist even as several US officials including President Trump openly declared the country wasn't doing enough to stop terrorist activity on its soil. State Department spokeswoman Heather Nauert said: "the US has consistently expressed our long-standing concern about ongoing deficiencies in Pakistan’s implementation of its anti-money laundering/counterterrorism finance regime." "In addition to broader systemic concerns, this also includes Pakistan’s non-compliance with its commitments under UN Security Council Resolution 1267," Nauert added. Reuters quoted a spokesperson at the US embassy in Islamabad saying that the United States was "absolutely not" acting on behalf of India. Meanwhile, US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said Pakistan's military is holding back counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States while continuing to go easy on militant groups inside its territory. "Pakistan-based militant groups continue to take advantage of their safe haven to conduct attacks in India, in Afghanistan, and including US interests therein," Coats said. Coats added that the US had announced terror designations in recent weeks on eight members of the Taliban, the Haqqani Network and other groups, aiming to boost pressure on the militants' abilities to operate.

US moves motion to place Pakistan on global terror financing watchlist at FATF: Report

fatf

Fatf, News on Fatf, stories on Fatf, articles on Fatf, Fatf stories at Wion, Fatf news, Fatf latest news