KARACHI: Pakistan must take ‘serious’ action to have its name removed from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), financial and security experts told Arab News on Friday. The experts stressed that implementing all of the recommendations of the FATF’s Asia Pacific Group (APG) is the best way for the country to achieve that goal.
An APG delegation reviewed the measures taken by Islamabad to prevent money laundering and the financing of terror groups during its recent visit to the country. Its members were particularly concerned about the flow of funds to proscribed militant entities operating in the region.
“During the visit, the APG team asked Pakistan to enact appropriate laws, enabling local officials to act upon requests from foreign countries to freeze illegal assets and make terrorism financing and money laundering extraditable offenses,” Dr. Ikram-ul-Haq, a senior economist, told Arab News.
He added: “The team was not satisfied with the existing laws on asset freezing and mutual assistance procedures. It also expressed serious reservations about the capabilities of various institutions entrusted with the task of countering the twin menace of money laundering and terrorism financing.”
Former chief of the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA), Khawaja Khalid Farooq, stressed the need to address the weaknesses in Pakistan’s investigation and prosecution of terror funding and money laundering.
“Given the perception of Pakistan in the international community, it will not be easy for us to get off the grey list. We need to improve our financial system and diplomacy to avoid further degradation,” he told Arab News.
The APG team also called for improvements in the operations of NACTA and the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU).
Pakistani authorities briefed the visiting team about the measures taken to counter money laundering, including the claim that seven suspicious transactions worth PKR 2 billion had been intercepted by the counter terrorism wing of the country’s Federal Investigation Agency (FIA), according to sources.
FATF officials were informed that, under the action plan, 1,111 cases of money laundering had been registered in the last three years, in connection to which 1,466 people had been arrested, with 542 convictions.
The team — which consisted of officials from the United States, Turkey, China and the United Kingdom — will submit its report to the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force.
“The APG delegation was basically an observatory mission and it was briefed by all relevant departments about Pakistan’s efforts to curb money laundering and terrorism financing,” Saeed Javed, the Ministry of Finance’s media director general, told Arab News.
“Representatives of the APG and Pakistan will hold a second meeting in mid-September to examine progress on the action plan,” he continued, adding that that visit is particularly significant as it comes at a time when Pakistan is expected to approach the International Monetary Fund (IMF) about a bailout package.
“Although Pakistan is not a member of FATF, global lenders, including the IMF and World Bank, attend meetings as observers and follow recommendations. Pakistan may be refused a loan or only be able to get one from the IMF at much higher rates,” Dr. Ayub Mehar, Research Economist at the Asian Development Bank Institute, told Arab News.
Dr. Athar Ahmed, a senior economist, said: “Pakistan will need at least three votes in the 37-member FATF to be removed from the grey list. The new government will have to improve diplomacy, along with its efforts to curb money laundering and terrorism financing.”
“Pakistan is moving in the right direction to curb money laundering and funding to terror outfits,” said Khurram Schehzad, senior financial analyst and chief commercial officer at JS Global Capital. “Pakistan has improved its regulatory framework during the last couple of years. The caretakers took overnight measures to implement the National Action Plan and the new government also seems serious about this issue.”
Schezad sounded optimistic that Pakistan would soon be removed from the agency’s grey list, saying “it is just a matter of time.”
Pakistan was placed on the FATF’s list of “jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies” — known as the ‘grey list’ — in June for its systematic failure to adequately counter money laundering and the financing of terrorism.
It is the third time Pakistan has featured on the list, having previously been included in 2008 and 2012.
Pakistan must take ‘serious’ action to be removed from FATF’s grey list, say economic experts
Pakistan must take ‘serious’ action to be removed from FATF’s grey list, say economic experts
- The IMF may refuse Pakistan a loan or apply much higher rates if the country remains on the list
- But some experts believe Pakistan is moving in the right direction to curb money laundering and the financing of terrorism
PM hails Pakistan for ‘unstoppable, unbeatable’ performance in South Africa ODI series
- Green Shirts thrashed South Africa 3-0 after losing Twenty20 series 2-0
- Pakistan will now play three Tests against South Africa later this month
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Monday praised the Pakistan cricket team for winning a three-match One Day International (ODI) series against South Africa, describing their performance as “unstoppable and unbeatable.”
The Green Shirts completed a series clean sweep over South Africa in the third ODI at the Wanderers Stadium on Sunday, with rising star Saim Ayub smashing his second century of the series and his third from five innings.
The left-handed opening batsman made a sparkling 101 off 94 balls in a Pakistan total of 308 for nine. Heinrich Klaasen thrashed 81 off 43 balls for South Africa, but the hosts were beaten by 36 runs chasing an adjusted target of 308 because of rain.
“Unstoppable and unbeatable!” Sharif remarked in a post on X. “Congratulations to Team Pakistan on an outstanding 3-0 ODI series victory against South Africa.”
The prime minister also praised the Pakistan Cricket Board chairman for the team’s performance.
“Well done, boys! Your determination, skill, and teamwork under the leadership of the PCB Chairman Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi have made the entire nation proud,” he said.
“Keep raising the green flag high!“
South Africa won the T20I series 2-0 after the third match was washed out on Dec. 14. The ODI series win comes ahead of the upcoming International Cricket Council (ICC) Champions Trophy, which Pakistan will hosting in February and March 2025.
Pakistan will also play three Tests against South Africa later this month.
Government opens long-awaited talks with Imran Khan’s party amid deepening polarization
- Negotiations began after Khan threatened civil disobedience, seeking release of political prisoners
- The government formed a negotiating committee a day earlier to engage with Khan’s PTI team
ISLAMABAD: The government and the opposition Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) of former Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday began long-awaited negotiations to resolve issues fueling political polarization and straining the country’s fragile economy, National Assembly Speaker Ayaz Sadiq confirmed.
The government announced the formation of a committee a day earlier to hold talks with PTI. This followed ex-premier Khan’s threat to launch civil disobedience by urging overseas Pakistanis, his party’s key support base, to halt remittances if his demands, including the release of political prisoners, were not met by Dec. 22.
Khan, who has been imprisoned for over a year on charges he claims are politically motivated, has also called for judicial commissions to investigate violent protests on May 9 last year and Nov. 26 this year, which the government says involved his party supporters.
Known for taking hard-line political positions, Khan formed a seven-member committee to negotiate with the government. This was done amid growing concerns he may face trial by the military for allegedly inciting attacks on sensitive security installations during violent protests following his brief detention last year in a graft case.
“We will talk about Pakistan’s interests instead of our own,” the National Assembly speaker said while addressing the initial round of talks. “We will try to sit and discuss matters for the sake of Pakistan.”
“The solution to every problem is through talks,” he added. “We implied a democratic way and talks are being held in the parliament only.”
The government’s committee includes key figures from the ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz (PML-N), such as Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar, Political Adviser Rana Sanaullah and Senator Irfan Siddiqui, alongside representatives from allied parties.
The PTI team has Khan’s loyal lieutenant Asad Qaiser, Sunni Ittehad Council Chairman Sahibzada Hamid Raza and Majlis Wehdat-i-Muslimeen’s Senator Raja Nasir Abbas.
Sadiq said the seriousness of purpose on both sides was reflected by the seniority of the people representing them.
He informed that a second meeting would follow the deliberations in the initial one.
The negotiations come days after Pakistan’s military announced prison sentences for 25 people involved in the May 9, 2023, protests, which PTI has demanded be investigated. The military said it had gathered “irrefutable evidence” against those prosecuted and reiterated its commitment to bringing the planners of the violence to justice.
The country has remained gripped by political unrest and uncertainty since Khan’s ouster from power through a parliamentary no-confidence vote, which has also exacerbated Pakistan’s economic hardships.
Senior government representatives have recently acknowledged that negotiations could offer a pathway out of the current political impasse. However, they have cautioned that it is too early to determine which of PTI’s demands might be addressed.
Ancient winter festival in Pakistan’s Chitral concludes with rituals, traditional dance
- Chawmos festival is celebrated in December by the Kalash people, who are numbered around 4,000
- Festival marks welcoming of new year, celebrated with dance, animal sacrifice, singing and feasting
PESHAWAR: A religious winter festival celebrated by the Kalash people in the northwestern Pakistani district of Chitral has concluded after featuring rituals, traditional dance and other festivities for two weeks, provincial tourism authority said on Monday.
The Kalash are a group of about 4,000 people, possibly Pakistan’s smallest minority, who live in the mountains of the Hindu Kush, where they practice an ancient polytheistic faith.
They come together each year in December to celebrate the two-week Chawmos festival after the community finishes fieldwork and stores cheese, fruit, vegetables and grains for the year.
The festival features various rituals, animal sacrifice, dance, songs and feasting, preserving the Kalash culture and attracting a number of tourists to Pakistan’s Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
“The religious Chawmos festival of the ancient Kalash Valley has concluded,” Mohammad Saad, a spokesperson for the KP Tourism Authority, said in a statement.
“The festival continued from Dec. 8 in the three valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.”
The Kalash community’s religion incorporates animiztic traditions of worshipping nature as well as a pantheon of gods, and its people live mainly in the three Kalash valleys of Bumburet, Birir and Rumbur.
The Chawmos festival is celebrated to welcome the new year, with the Kalash people indulging in religious practices and distributing vegetables and fruit among each other, according to the official.
The festival was attended by a large number of domestic and foreign tourists who were fully facilitated by the provincial tourism authority.
Pakistan defense minister blames judiciary for delayed verdicts in May 9 cases
- National problems require decisions at the earliest, says Khawaja Asif while talking to media in London
- Protests erupted in several Pakistani cities on May 9, 2023, over ex-PM Imran Khan’s arrest in a graft case
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s Defense Minister Khawaja Asif on Sunday blamed the judiciary for delaying verdicts in the May 9, 2023, cases, which have so far led to the conviction of 25 supporters of former Prime Minister Imran Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party for attacking government buildings and military properties last year.
On Dec. 21, the Pakistan Army sentenced 25 people for participating in the violent protests that erupted in several Pakistani cities following Khan’s brief detention on corruption charges, resulting in damage to major military facilities and martyrs’ monuments in the country.
However, several suspects are also facing legal charges in anti-terrorism courts, with the military hoping for early verdicts in their cases, according to a statement announcing the sentencing of the 25 individuals, which described the rioting as “politically provoked violence.”
The PTI has denied any involvement in the violence, describing the May 9 incident as a “false flag” operation aimed at crushing the party.
“The judiciary created the biggest hurdle in this [the conviction of May 9 suspects] while this thing was allowed to linger for one and a half years,” Asif said while speaking to the media in London, the city he is currently visiting.
Describing the May 9 protests as a national problem, he said all the cases related to it required verdicts at the earliest.
The conviction of the 25 individuals followed a ruling by a seven-member Constitutional Bench of the Supreme Court of Pakistan on Dec. 13, allowing military courts to share their verdicts. Prior to that, the court had unanimously declared last year that prosecuting civilians in military courts violated the Constitution.
Khan’s PTI party rejected the military’s announcement, with opposition leader Omar Ayub Khan saying they were “against the principles of justice.”
The sentencing of the 25 individuals also raises concerns about Khan, who faces charges of inciting attacks against the armed forces and may potentially be tried in a military court.
Earlier, Asif had regretted the delay in announcing the verdicts, saying that it “raised the morale of the accused and their facilitators.”
“Right now, only the workers, who were used [to generate violence], have been punished under the law,” he had said. “This will not end until the ones, who planned this terrible day, are not brought before the law.”
Pakistan PM reviews security situation amid rising militancy, sectarian clashes
- PM Sharif was briefed by Mohsin Naqvi who recently attended a security meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa
- Security remained a concern for Pakistan this year, which witnessed renewed attacks on Chinese nationals
ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif evaluated the security situation during a meeting with Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore on Sunday, focusing on measures taken by the authorities to ensure peace across the country.
The talks come days after Naqvi attended a high-level security meeting in the volatile Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, which borders Afghanistan and has seen a surge in cross-border militant attacks.
The region’s Kurram district has been gripped by sectarian clashes since last month, leaving well over 100 people dead, according to local reports.
During the meeting in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Naqvi and other stakeholders decided to enhance the capacity of law enforcement agencies with the federal government’s full cooperation to combat mounting security challenges.
Pakistan has also faced unrest in its southwestern province of Balochistan, where separatist attacks intensified throughout the year.
“Federal Interior Minister Syed Mohsin Raza Naqvi provided a detailed briefing to Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif on the overall security situation in the country,” the statement from the PM Office said. “The Prime Minister expressed satisfaction with the measures taken to ensure law and order in the country.”
The meeting also included discussions on the country’s political situation, the statement added.
Security remained a major concern for the government this year, which witnessed renewed attacks on Chinese workers, including five fatalities when their convoy was targeted by an explosive-laden vehicle near Besham city in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.
Later in October, two Chinese engineers lost their lives in a blast near Karachi airport.
On Sunday, Pakistan’s army chief, General Asim Munir, vowed to hunt down militants and their facilitators, following a deadly attack on a military outpost in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa that left 16 soldiers dead.
