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Terror financing
 [DAWN] THE juncture that Pakistain stands at today ‐ of potentially being ’grey listed’ by the Financial Action Task Force for failure to take action against groups and individuals designated by the United Nations...a lucrative dumping ground for the relatives of dictators and party hacks... as bully boyz ‐ is not new. For three years, Pakistain was on this grey list from 2012 to 2015 for failing to enact an anti-money-laundering law. Once that was done, under the guidance of the then finance minister Ishaq Dar, the country was taken out of the grey list, and the financial sector breathed a sigh of relief. Then, a new set of commitments had to be delivered on: proscribe those groups designated as bully boyz by the UN, and seize their assets, restrict the movement of their leadership and halt their fundraising. From 2015, the country struggled with this, because the groups in question, ie the Falah-e-Insaniyat ...the current false nose and mustache of Jamaat ud-Dawa, which was the false nose and mustache of Lashkar e-Taiba... and the Jamaat-ud-Dawa ...the front organization of Lashkar-e-Taiba... , appeared to enjoy support from powerful quarters and were set to be ’mainstreamed’ in Pak politics in preparation for the 2018 general election. Now on the eve of the FATF meeting in Gay Paree, we are seeing action being taken against these very groups. Previously, the country witnessed only cosmetic action being taken against groups designated as bully boyz by the UN just before a review by the FATF. On completion of the review, action would not be pursued. This is why many are asking whether or not history is set to repeat itself. But could there be reason to believe that things may be different now? One positive aspect is that in the days following the promulgation of the presidential ordinance harmonising the list of proscribed organizations maintained by Pakistain and the UN, a crackdown more wide-ranging than previously has been in evidence. One must hope that somewhere deep inside the state’s decision-making structures, something has changed. In any case, it is in Pakistain’s own interest to ensure that crackdowns and bans on specific organizations have the desired effect and that these groups are defanged permanently and do not have any opportunity to resurrect themselves under a different name. The actions being taken now, which include the seizing of the financial assets of the groups, hopefully indicate a change of heart at the top levels of government; but the state should ensure that these extend to all bad boy groups in the country ‐ and not only to those proscribed internationally. The organizations in question have struck deep roots in Pak society with their charity work, and making a meaningful change in their modus operandi will require a sustained, detailed strategy. The current steps against these groups may well satisfy the international obligations that the government is seeking to fulfil. But the real commitment is to the people of Pakistain who want to be able to live and breathe in a country free from extremism. Posted by: Fred 2018-02-18 |
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