Media reports suggest that Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has decided to place back Pakistan on its terror financing watch-list with countries that financially aid terrorism with effect from June. Despite initially agreeing to Pakistan’s viewpoint, the FATF plenary session decided to place the country on its grey list after three months. However the federal government apparently claims that it does not see its major impact on the country and its economy. They believe that Pakistan remained on this list during 2012-15 but the International Momentary Fund (IMF) gave $ 6.5 billion bail out package in 2013.
But they forget that the Democratic Party Administration in the United States, particularly the US Secretary of States Hillary Clinton, had a soft corner for the PML-N leader Nawaz Sharif. When his government was toppled in October 1999, a very sharp reaction came from the US President Bill Clinton administration. This time the scenario is changed, because after the incident of 11/9 the United States troops are in Afghanistan. Republican Party President Donald Trump accused Pakistan of lies and deceit despite getting billions of dollars in aid. The United States has suspended $ 2.5 billion economic and security assistance e to Pakistan. The Incumbent PML-N government has put foreign policy on the back burner, defending the disqualified Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and smear campaign against the judiciary has been the most priority item on the front burner in the day to day government policy. It was just four days before the meetings if the Inter Minister Ahsan Iqbal with US Deputy Secretary of State Jhon Sullvan and important Senator and congressmen that US moved a resolution to FATF, suggesting that Pakistan should be placed back on terror financing watch-list.
Defacto Finance Minister, Mifta Ismael claimed that Pakistan financial system is strong and its ant-money laundering and counter terrorism regime are the most stringent in the world. His claim is not compatible with the ground realities. The country foreign exchange reserves were $ 21 billion before the end of IMF Extended Fund Facility in September 2016. No sooner did the IMF program expired, foreign currency reserves started depleting at a fast. In just 15 months the foreign exchange reserves dropped to12.1 billion dollars. The foreign trade deficit with China has reached $ 18 billion and the deficit in bilateral trade with Indonesia is $ 2.3 billion. The transfer of textile sector to Bangladesh and China has gained momentum. The situation in the surgical goods and sports products industries is far from satisfactory. Annual Exports are stagnant at $ 21 billion and imports will exceed the target of $ 36 billion despite the imposition of regulatory duty on 350 items of imports.
The United States Republican administration is not inclined to buy the Pakistan’s civilian leadership hollow rhetoric that the country’s anti-money laundering and counterterrorism regimes are among the most strongest in the world. They are fully aware how the powerful political elite protect their carriers of money laundering .The vip treatment given todollar girl Ayan Ali is one such example. Quite recently a New York Regulator fined Habib Bank New York branch $222 million and directed it to close its operation. It is because of the double standard of the ruling political elite that international community do not trust the stance of the government on counter terrorism despite the successful operation of ZARB-e-Azb in FATA and on going operation Radul Fasad.. The PML-N government was not fully supportive of military operation against the militants in tribal areas. Speaking at the Seminar in the memory of Maulana Mufti Muhammad Hussain Naeemi. at Jamea Naeemia Lahore on 14th March 2010, Punjab Chief Minister urged Tehrik-e- Taliban Pakistan not to target Punjab as Punjab government would not take dictation from outsider against the militants. The provincial government is still not very active against the militants’ sleeper cells in the South Punjab. NACTA is not fully functional. The fabricated news story, ‘Dawn leaks’ released about the high level meeting chaired by the former Prime Minster Nawaz Sharif also gave credence to Indian and US narrative against Pakistan. The US Director of National Intelligence Dan Coat told Congress on 13th February that Pakistan would maintain its ties with militant groups, restricting counter-terrorism cooperation with the United States. A senior US official said on Friday that Pakistan need not to kill or capture militants such as members of Haqqani network but could push them across the border into Afghanistan. The level of trust deficit between the United States and Pakistan is large and must be bridged in the given short leash of three months with proactive and convincing diplomacy.
