ISLAMABAD – Pakistan has failed to complete 25 of the 27 action pointsgiven by the international terror financing watchdog FATF to check fundingto terrorist groups such as LeT and JeM and frontal groups likeJamat-ud-Dawah and Falah-e-Insaniat Foundation.
With this, multilateral lenders like the IMF, the World Bank and the EU maycontinue downgrading Pakistan, making its financial situation moreprecarious.
The Paris-headquartered Financial Action Task Force has asked Pakistan toexplain whether it has launched any investigation into the USD sevenmillion allocated to maintain schools, madrasas, clinics and ambulancesoriginally operated by terror groups like Lashkar-e-Taiba,Jaish-e-Mohammad, and LeT fronts Jamat-ud-Dawah and Falah-e-InsaniatFoundation.
JuD and FIF are founded by terror mastermind Hafiz Saeed.
Pakistan is in deep trouble at the FATF meeting beginning Sunday in Floridain the US, people aware of the development said.
“It has been unable to complete 25 of its 27 action points. It has one lastchance, till its 15-month deadline ends in October 2019, when the FATFPlenary will be held,” one of them added.
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In June 2018, Pakistan was placed in the ‘Gray’ list and given a 27-pointaction plan by FATF.
This plan was reviewed at the last plenary in October 2018 and for thesecond time in February this year, when the country was again put into the’Gray’ list after India submitted new information about Pakistan-basedterrorist groups.
The FATF continuing Pakistan in the ‘Gray’ list means its downgrading byIMF, World Bank, ADB, EU and also a reduction in risk rating by Moody’s,S&P and Fitch.
This will add to the financial problems of Pakistan, which is seeking aidfrom all possible international avenues.
