Pakistan Thursday voiced its serious concerns and objections over the introduction of new procedure for placing it on the watch list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and described it as unprecedented and clear violation of the body''s established rules, aiming at hampering the country''s economic progress through "politically motivated" move.
Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal told his weekly media briefing that since Pakistan is not a member of the FATF, the country''s mutual evaluation is conducted by Asia Pacific Group (APG) for monitoring of compliance with FATF standards. He said that Pakistan''s latest report was submitted to APG on January 6, 2018, which highlighted comprehensive enforcement actions undertaken by the government of Pakistan to address the residuary concerns regarding implementation of UNSCR 1267 sanctions on some entities, namely Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT), Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) and Falah-e-Insaniyat Foundation (FIF).
While the APG was analyzing Pakistan''s report, he stated, the US and UK jointly submitted a letter on January 20, 2018 to the FATF, nominating Pakistan for placement on the Grey List while France and Germany subsequently joined this nomination. "Pakistan has serious concerns over and objections to the introduction of this new procedure, which is unprecedented and a clear violation of established rules/practices of FATF," he asserted.
Since 2015, he pointed out, time and again the goal posts have been shifted for reporting by Pakistan, which has made it into a never-ending monitoring process. "The objective of raising these new issues seems to be to suddenly raise an alarm on the overall integrity of Pakistan''s AML/CFT [Anti-Money Laundering /and Combating Financing of Terrorism] framework," he said, adding that the initiation of this action without waiting for completion of Pakistan''s mutual evaluation is designed to manipulate the FATF process. "The real aim of this politically-motivated move is to hamper Pakistan''s economic progress," he asserted.
Based on Pakistan''s Mutual Evaluation in 2009, he pointed out that the FATF identified "strategic deficiencies" in Pakistan''s AML/CFT regime. In February 2012, Pakistan was listed in FATF''s Public Statement ie "Grey List", he added. To overcome these deficiencies, he said, Pakistan agreed to implement FATF Action Plan and as a consequence, the State Bank of Pakistan introduced new rules and guidelines on CFT/AML.
Stand-alone legislation on money laundering was also enacted by the Parliament, he said, adding that an operationally independent and administrative Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) was established under the AML law with the sole mandate of receiving, analyzing and disseminating Suspicious Transaction Reports (STRs) and Currency Transaction Reports (CTRs). He stated that after strenuous efforts in June 2015, the implementation of the action plan was completed and Pakistan was de-listed from FATF''s Public Statement. After the exit, he added, the FATF referred Pakistan to APG due to residuary concerns regarding implementation of UNSCR 1267 sanctions on some entities ie LeT, JuD, and FIF.
Since then, he added, Pakistan has been continuously reporting to APG on these "residual concerns." Commenting on the US recent Worldwide Threat Assessment Report, in which the US has referred to Pakistan as a regional security risk, the spokesperson said, "We are still reviewing the report, which is an annual exercise on part of the US intelligence community to present a global threat assessment to the Congress."
However, he said that the singular negative focus on Pakistan''s nuclear programme is extremely unfortunate. "We have consistently maintained that Pakistan''s nuclear posture is purely defensive, in order to deter the aggressive designs of its hostile neighbor in the east," he said, adding that the complete silence of the report on India''s ambitious nuclear program and delivery system is really "surprising and smacks of partisanship."
"Any credible threat assessment should have cautioned the world about India''s fast growing nuclear stockpiles and development of long-range delivery systems that have ignited a new arms race in our region," he asserted.
On Pakistan-US relations, he said that talks between the two countries are ongoing at all levels. "Right now, both sides are engaged in this dialogue outside the public glare. We are hopeful that common ground can be achieved through this dialogue," he said.
When asked to comment on the reports that a Pakistani delegation that went to US to discuss Haqqani Network and Afghan Taliban with the CIA was barred from meeting any CIA officials, the spokesperson expressed his inability to confirm saying he was not aware of any such development.
To a question regarding India acquiring a strategic port of Oman, he said that Pakistan has clearly defined priorities and national interest, adding that the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) figures prominently in this calculation. He said that it is a huge investment and connectivity project that Pakistan and China are jointly undertaking, adding that the people of Pakistan have already begun to see the dividends of this project.
To another query, he said that the CPEC is a connectivity project between Pakistan and China and any expansion in the project will be done with the consent and concurrence of both the countries. On the issues in Pakistan-Afghan relations, he said that progress was made in the areas of political, diplomatic and refugee issues during the recent talks. However, he said that there were differences of views on certain areas, adding these areas can be addressed and will be addressed during the next meeting.
Regarding shifting of the US troops from Iraq to Afghanistan, he said Pakistan''s position is consistent and clear, adding, "We believe that only a politically negotiated peace process, which is Afghan-owned and Afghan-led, can bring lasting peace and stability in Afghanistan."
To another query regarding Afghan President Ashraf Ghani''s expressing support to a sit-in in Islamabad seeking justice for Naqeebullah Mehsud who was killed allegedly in a fake encounter in Karachi, he said: "We have seen the tweets by the Afghan leadership in the wake of a sit-in for the arrest of the accused in Naqeebullah Mehsud''s case."
He said that the Afghan leadership has tried to portray the sit-in in a different light. "The tweets are tantamount to interference in the internal affairs of Pakistan. It is unfortunate that the sit-ins in response to the case are being projected in a different light," he said, adding that the issue is that of a legal and administrative nature and any attempt to politicize it is unacceptable. "We believe this tendency should be avoided," he asserted.
On Torkham and Spin Boldak border crossings, he clarified that the border crossings have not been closed; however, Pakistan has enforced phytosanitary requirements in line with its international obligations under the WTO/SPS agreements. He said that technical experts are now placed at Pakistan''s borders for the purpose, adding that every effort is being made to facilitate the smooth movement of fruits and vegetables coming into Pakistan.
To another query, he said Iran-Pakistan (IP) gas pipeline is a project of mutual interest, adding because of Pakistan''s growing energy needs Pakistan is, and will, remain engaged with Iran on these projects. To a question, he confirmed that an inquiry has been initiated regarding Pakistan''s ambassador to Australia''s alleged maltreatment with her Pakistani servant, and the reasons for which he [servant] sought asylum in Australia.
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