WASHINGTON: As the new government in Islamabad starts work on addressing the concerns related to money laundering and terror financing, a US State Department report released on Thursday said that Pakistan criminalised terrorist financing through the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), but its implementation remained uneven.
Pakistan is a member of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering — a Financial Action Task Force (FATF)-style regional body. In June, the Paris-based FATF placed Pakistan on its grey list of countries that could be marked out for economic sanctions if they failed to prevent terrorists from collecting funds within their domain.
The official US report — released with the State Department’s country reports on terrorism — also highlights FATF’s concerns about Pakistan.
“The FATF continued to note concern that Pakistan’s outstanding gaps in the implementation of the UN Security Council ISIL (Daesh) and Al Qaida sanctions regime have not been resolved, and that UN-listed entities — including Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and its affiliates — were not effectively prohibited from raising funds in Pakistan, nor being denied financial services,” the report points out.
Washington claims progress on efforts to implement UN sanctions related to designated entities is slow
Last month, Finance Minister Asad Umar told the Senate that FATF had given Pakistan 15 months to comply with these requirements. The minister said FATF had identified 27 deficiencies in the Pakistani financial system, including “currency smuggling, hawala and terror financing of proscribed organisations”.
The minister had told the house that the government would be addressing all the objections raised not only to satisfy the international community but also because it was in Pakistan’s own interest to get rid of terror financing and terrorism.
The US State Department in its report acknowledged that Pakistan’s laws technically comply with international anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism standards, but added that Pakistani authorities “failed to uniformly implement UN sanctions related to designated entities and individuals such as LeT and its affiliates, which continued to make use of economic resources and raise funds”.
The report also refers to a Nov 2017 decision of the Lahore High Court which refused to extend the detention of LeT founder Hafiz Saeed as it judged the government had not provided sufficient evidence against him nor had it charged Hafiz Saeed with a crime.
The US report also examines the National Action Plan that the PML-N government gave to FATF in June this year, noting that the plan contains efforts to prevent and counter terrorist financing, including by enhancing interagency coordination.
The law designates the use of unlicensed hundi and hawala systems as predicate offences to terrorism and also requires banks to report suspicious transactions to Pakistan’s financial intelligence unit, the State Bank’s Financial Monitoring Unit.
The US State Department, however, notes that throughout 2017 “these unlicensed money transfer systems persisted throughout the country and were open to abuse by terrorist financiers operating in the cross-border area”.
Reviewing Pakistan’s efforts to fight terrorism, the report notes that Pakistan continued to experience significant terrorist threats in 2017, although the number of attacks and casualties decreased from previous years.
The report also identifies several major terrorist groups focused on conducting attacks in Pakistan, including the Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan, Jamaatul Ahrar, and the sectarian group Lashkar-i-Jhangvi al-Alami.
The report also mentions groups located in Pakistan, but focused on conducting attacks outside the country, included the Afghan Taliban, Haqqani network, Lashkar-e-Taiba and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM).
The reports notes that in 2017, the terrorists used a range of tactics — stationary and vehicle-borne improvised explosive devices, suicide bombings, targeted assassinations, and rocket-propelled grenades — to attack individuals, schools, markets, government institutions and places of worship.
The report also notes that the Pakistani government and military continued high-profile efforts to disrupt terrorist attacks and eliminate anti-state militants. “Progress, however, remained slow on the government’s efforts to implement UN sanctions related to designated entities and enforce anti-money laundering/countering the financing of terrorism (AML/CFT) controls.”
The State Department also said that the Pakistani government pledged support to political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban but “did not restrict the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani network from operating in Pakistan-based safe havens and threatening US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan”.
The government, the report added, also failed to “significantly limit” LeT and JeM from openly raising money, recruiting and training in Pakistan — although the Elections Commission of Pakistan refused to allow a LeT-affiliated group to register as a political party.
Published in Dawn, September 21st, 2018
Comments (34) Closed
Need economic development, then it has to do more, as West is constantly watching.
Great report by the US state department.
Duplicity will not work anymore Pakistan. World will no longer look the other way. The game has changed. Get in line or you will find yourself alone.
India has a strong lobby in FATF, along with West support.
I don't see what more USA wants. 70000 lives lost tp terror is no joke. Let's shut all the supplies to afghanistan and heb we can talk about who is doing what. Whatsay DT
Not a good news. Pakistan may be placed in FATF black list next.
US’s efforts to not sell weapons that kill children in Yemen have also been uneven.
Do more and more and more and then do some more....
Who is US?
And also the US commitments to end terrorism across the world remain uneven.
Since it the USA reporting therefore whatever good we do will not be enough. Period.
Nothing new in this report as all is known to Pakistani authorities and whole world. There is no will to do.
Blacklist coming soon.
Naya Pakistan with old workflow is just an old candy in new wrapper, this needs to change, rather there should be a will to change
@Damiyan ..... You are not going to like the Grey List. This is what they are saying, that you and the government are not taking this seriously. The Grey List will hurt the economy of Pakistan.
@Wahab ... We are playing with fire this time.
But, all the moneylaundering happens through Dubai!!!
@Pashtun UN not US.
In short, US is asking again to do more.
Pakistan do not have to listen Trump's US.
I do not follow any religious organisation but I believe that Hafiz Saeed has nothing to do with terrorism. Our courts have already tried him number of times but could not find any evidence against him. He is running welfare for the needy people. I am surprised why his name again is in lime light.
@Saif Zulfiqar Have to listen to UN anyway.
@point of view report devoid of ground realities.
US having realised its folly, now is suggesting stopping aid and staying aloof from Pakistan was a big mistake. Pakistan is far more important country for US than India, in the rsgion.
@Be honest for once, Be Honest
Report is spot on. No restrictions on LET finances.
What else do you expect anyone to to say about Pakistan's methods to trace, control and eradicate terrorism, when the Police and Secuirty forces are so poorly funded or trained?
Whenever a terror incident takes place around the country, more often than not, you see ordinary people walking around touching things, picking up fragments of devices, contamination evidence or damaging any traces of it. Instead of a uniformed forensic expert wearing protective gear and properly equiped to handle evidence and collect traces of sources of bombs, DNA or other material for investigation - you will see someone in Shalwar Kameez, without any gloves or protective gear, sifting through the area as if looking for ripe tomatoes, instead of looking for clues and collecting it for lab analysis.
Such shortcomings in our attitude and approach to dealiing with the menace leaves a lot to be desired. I am sure the funds are there to bring best technology to the country,. Get your priorities right.
It is widely believed (polls) by the majority of humanity that United States of America is the number one destabilizing force in the world. America´s number one export is violence. Americans them selves support terrorist groups in Syria. Also, terrorists can never bomb as much as Americans. I am 100% sure American bombings have terrorized millions upon millions of more people then some "men in caves" armed with hand rifles.
Go away USA
Statement from America who supply weapons to the highest bidder
US and India should stop terror financing of TTP.
Please stop funding ISIS first.
FATF black list?
US is now openly looking for ways and means to harm Pakistan. Any how other than peace in Afghanistan, Pakistan should not pay any heeds to what they say or do. Lets prove that Pakistan is better with out US.