Pakistan expressed its disappointment over the assertions made in the US State Department's report on terrorism, asserting that the report completely overlooks the factual situation on the ground and the country's tremendous contribution over the last two decades in the international struggle against terrorism.
"Pakistan is disappointed with assertions made in the US Department of State's Country Report on Terrorism 2018, concerning its counterterrorism efforts", Foreign Office Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal said while commenting on the report which was made public on November 1, 2019.
He said that the report completely overlooks the factual situation on the ground and the tremendous contribution made and sacrifices rendered by Pakistan over the last two decades in the international struggle against terrorism. These efforts have not only resulted in the elimination of al-Qaeda from this region but have also made the world a safer place, he asserted.
"Pakistan is committed to take concrete actions under its National Action Plan. Pakistan has taken extensive legal and administrative measures for implementation of its obligations under the UNSC 1267 sanctions regime for the freezing of assets and denial of funds and economic resources to all designated entities and individuals", he said, adding that Pakistan is continuing actions to fully implement the FATF Action Plan.
As noted in the report, he stated, Pakistan faces the threat of terrorism from a number of groups including Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), Jamaat-ul-Ahrar (JuA) and Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP). The report, however, fails to mention that these groups continue to operate and conduct terrorist activities against Pakistan from across the border, he added.
Dr Faisal pointed out that Pakistan has facilitated direct talks between the US and Taliban in the context of the Afghan peace and reconciliation process in good faith.
"Pakistan's positive contribution in this regard has been widely acknowledged, including by the United States and its leadership", he said, adding that any insinuation to the contrary is unwarranted and is inconsistent with the positive trajectory of the bilateral relations.
"We have always stressed that counterterrorism efforts can effectively be advanced through constructive engagement. We hope Pakistan's commitment, contributions and sacrifices would be fully recognized and appreciated in the right perspective", he further asserted.
The State Department in its report stated that although the Pakistani government voiced support for political reconciliation between the Afghan government and the Afghan Taliban, it did not restrict the Afghan Taliban and Haqqani Network (HQN) from operating in Pakistan-based safe havens and threatening the US and Afghan forces in Afghanistan.
"The government [of Pakistan] failed to significantly limit Lashkar e-Tayyiba (LeT) and Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) from raising money, recruiting, and training in Pakistan - and allowed candidates overtly affiliated with LeT front organizations to contest the July 2018 general elections," it further stated.
It further pointed out that Pakistan experienced significant terrorist threats in 2018, although the number of attacks and casualties has continued to decrease from previous years.
The major terrorist groups that focused on conducting attacks in Pakistan included TTP, JuA, ISIS-K, and the sectarian group Lashkar-e-Jhangvi al-Alami (LJA), the report added.
The report pointed out that in June 2018, the FATF placed Pakistan on its "grey list" for deficiencies in its AML/CFT regimes, including the failure to implement the UN sanctions related to designated entities.
It also referred to the legislative business as part of the counterterrorism strategy, adding, "Pakistan continued to implement the Antiterrorism Act of 1997, the National Counterterrorism Authority (NACTA) Act, the 2014 Investigation for Fair Trial Act, and 2014 amendments to the Antiterrorism Act, all of which allow enhanced law enforcement and prosecutorial powers for terrorism cases."
The law allows for preventive detention, permits the death penalty for terrorism offenses, and creates special anti-terrorism courts. In 2017, the government renewed a constitutional amendment allowing military courts to try civilians on terrorism charges for two additional years. However, critics have argued that the military courts are not transparent and are being used to silence civil society activists, it added.
Military, paramilitary and civilian security forces conducted counterterrorism operations throughout Pakistan. The Intelligence Bureau has nationwide jurisdiction and is empowered to coordinate with provincial counterterrorism departments. Pakistan's Ministry of Interior has more than 10 law enforcement-related entities under its administration.
The NACTA acts as a coordinating body. In November, the Minister of State for the Interior, Shehryar Afridi, announced that the Ministry of Interior would reorganize NACTA as part of its reforms to the National Action Plan on terrorism, which was still in progress at the end of the reporting period.
Pakistan collects biometric information at land crossings with its International Border Management Security System. Authorities had limited ability to detect smuggling by air travel. The customs service attempted to enforce anti-money laundering laws and foreign exchange regulations at all major airports in coordination with other agencies.
Customs managed the entry of dual-use chemicals for legitimate purposes through end-use verification, while also attempting to prevent their diversion for use in IEDs. In keeping with UNSCR 2178, returning FTFs may be prosecuted under Pakistani law. The NACTA is responsible for compiling and verifying data of these individuals.
In early 2017, after Pakistan's military announced the nationwide Radd-ul-Fassad or "elimination of strife" operation to prevent cross-border terrorist attacks and limit militants' access to explosives and weapons, the government and military sources reported scores of military and police operations to disarm, disrupt, kill, and apprehend terrorists. Military courts operated without transparency and sentenced at least 104 convicted terrorists to death in 2018, up from at least 15 in 2017.
Countering the Financing of Terrorism: As a member of the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), a FATF-style regional body, Pakistan has agreed to implement international standards to combat money laundering, terrorism finance and proliferation finance. Pakistan criminalizes terrorist financing through the Antiterrorism Act, but implementation remains uneven.
In June 2018, the FATF placed Pakistan on its "grey list" for deficiencies across its AML/CFT regimes, specifically citing concerns over Pakistan's failure to fully implement the UN Security Council ISIL (Da'esh) and al-Qaeda sanctions regime.
The FATF noted that UN-listed entities, including LeT and its affiliates, were not effectively prohibited from raising funds in Pakistan, or being denied financial services. Although Pakistan's laws technically comply with international AML/CFT standards, authorities failed to uniformly implement the 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. Pakistan committed to address these concerns as part of an agreed FATF Action Plan.
Pakistan's 2015 National Action Plan to combat terrorism includes efforts to prevent and counter terrorist financing, including by enhancing interagency coordination on countering the finance of terrorism.
The law designates the use of unlicensed Hundi and Hawala systems as predicate offences to terrorism and requires banks to report suspicious transactions to Pakistan's FIU, the State Bank's Financial Monitoring Unit. These unlicensed money transfer systems persisted throughout the country and were open to abuse by terrorist financiers operating in the cross-border area.
Countering Violent Extremism: In November, the Pakistani government announced that it would review and potentially revise NACTA's composition and operations. Before the review, NACTA's CVE work adhered to the National Narrative to Counter Violent Extremism, which was finalized in 2017.
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting and the military's public relations wing shaped media messages to build support for the military's counterterrorism initiatives. The government operated five de-radicalization camps offering "corrective religious education," vocational training, counseling, and therapy. A Pakistani NGO administered the Sabaoon Rehabilitation Center in Swat Valley, which was founded in partnership with the Pakistani military, and focused on juvenile terrorists.
There were continued reports that some religious seminaries taught extremist doctrine. Increasing government supervision of seminaries is a component of the National Action Plan, and there was evidence of continued government efforts to increase regulation of the sector.
Security analysts and seminary reforms proponents observed, however, that many seminaries failed to register themselves with the government or to provide documentation of their sources of funding, or to limit their acceptance to foreign students with valid visas, a background check, and the consent of the governments, as required by law. The Pakistani cities of Nowshera, Peshawar and Quetta are members of the Strong Cities Network.
International and Regional Cooperation: Pakistan participated in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation meetings on counterterrorism and in other multilateral fora where counterterrorism cooperation was discussed, including the GCTF, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (as an observer), the Heart of Asia-Istanbul Process, and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations Regional Forum, the reported added.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2019
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