Anti-Pakistan slogans echoed outside FATF office in Paris
Feb 20, 2022
Paris [France], February 20 : Echoes of "Terrorist Terrorist! Pakistan Pakistan!" resounded outside the office of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in France on Saturday as exiled Afghan, Uyghur and Hong Kong communities living in Paris organized a protest urging the watchdog to blacklist Pakistan.
A video was posted by exiled Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui, the organizer of the protests, on Twitter showing people holding anti-Pakistan placards.
"Pakistan's role in money laundering globally, terror financing in the country and in neighbouring Pakistan, and its nexus with China that lobbies for Islamabad to be not held accountable is well known, said Siddiqui.
A number of French citizens also participated in the protest to express their solidarity with the exiled dissenters.
Ahead of the FATF Plenary and Working Group Meetings in Paris, analysts have said that Pakistan is likely to slip into the 'black list' of the global anti-terrorist financing and anti-money laundering watchdog for non-compliance.
Pakistan has been on the Paris-based FATF's grey list for deficiencies in its counter-terror financing and anti-money laundering regimes since June 2018. This greylisting has adversely impacted its imports, exports, remittances, and limited access to international lending.
Since coming to power, Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan has been campaigning for Pakistan's removal from the FATF's greylisting without any success. Experts believe the Pakistani government has failed to take action against terror organizations. On the contrary, it has been capitulating before Islamist outfits such as Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP).
In an analytical piece, Global Strat View said that decisions taken by the Pakistan government may have violated the FATF mandates.
"If the FATF puts Pakistan on the 'black list,' economic penalties and other restrictive measures will be imposed. This will be a big blow to the struggling economy of Pakistan whose economy has witnessed a cumulative decline of about $38 billion during 2008-2019 as a result of FATF's grey-listing," the report said citing Pakistani economist Dr Naafey Sardar.
According to the Global Strat View, there are strong signals that it could be placed in the 'black list'.
