Protest held outside FATF office in Paris calling for blacklisting of Pakistan
Feb 19, 2022
Paris [France], February 19 : A protest was held outside Financial Action Task Force's (FATF) office in France on Saturday to urge the financial watchdog to place Pakistan on its blacklist.
The protestors which included Afghans, Baloch, and Uyghurs came forward to remind Pakistan's role in spreading terrorism. A video was posted by Pakistani journalist Taha Siddiqui on Twitter showing people holding anti-Pakistan placards.
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'.
