ISLAMABAD – No country, except China, has committed to vote for Pakistan asit struggles to avert terror-tag at the six-day meeting of the FinancialAction Task Force – a global body combating terror financing andmoney-laundering.

The FATF meeting started on Sunday in Paris and will also consider theUnited States’ resolution to place* Pakistan* on the terror watch list.

Senior officials *at* the foreign ministry told The Nation thatPakistan had contacted almost all the members of the FATF throughdiplomatic channels but “they showed inclination” to the US resolutionagainst Pakistan .

One official said: “Some countries like Russia, Germany and Belgium gave alittle hope but there was no commitment. Majority of the (FATF member)countries looked firm to raise their hands for the US. We are sure of onevote from China as they (China) have always supportedlink>Pakistanlink> . “The development is, of course,shocking for link>Pakistanlink> . We have been working to control thedamage,” he said.

The 37 permanent members of FATF include Argentina, Australia, Austria,Belgium, Brazil, Canada, China, Denmark, European Commission, Finland,France, Germany, Greece, Gulf Co-operation Council, Hong Kong, China,Iceland, India, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Republic of Korea, Luxembourg,Malaysia, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, RussianFederation, Singapore, South Africa, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey,United Kingdom and the US. Israel and Saudi Arabia have observer status.

Before the FATF meeting, Prime Minister’s Adviser on Finance Miftah Ismailvisited Germany, Netherlands and Belgium to seek support. Federal ministerAwais Ahmed Khan Leghari also visited Malaysia. Both of them did not returnwith the desired results.

The imminent FATF verdict will be a huge setback as major global financialinstitutions – including International Monetary Fund and World Bank – areunder the FATF influence. The European Commission and the United Nationsalso give importance to the FATF. Last week, US State Departmentspokesperson Heather Nauert had announced that a resolution to placelink>Pakistanlink> on the global terror-financing watchlist had been submitted to the FATF. She said the US had been concernedabout Pakistan’s actions for a long time. “We have therefore decided thatwe want to place link>Pakistanlink> on an international watch list,” sheadded.

This month, the US had imposed sanctions on three individuals linked to‘Pakistan-based militant networks’ in a bid to push Islamabad to crack downon the alleged perpetrators of attacks on Afghanistan.

The US Treasury Department designated the men as “global terrorists” fortheir alleged connections to Lashkar-e-Taiba and other groups. It cameafter the US blacklisted six people accused of supporting the Taliban andHaqqani network in Afghanistan, and stressed their links tolink>Pakistanlink> .

The decision targeted Rahman Zeb Faqir Mohammed, who collected funds forLashkar in the Gulf. The other two blacklisted men – Hizb Ullah Astam Khanand Dilawar Khan Nadir Khan – were accused of acting on behalf of SheikhAminullah, who was sanctioned in 2009 for providing material support toAl-Qaeda and the Taliban.

The US has already suspended security assistance tolink>Pakistanlink>targeting the Coalition Support Fund.Heather Nauert said link>Pakistanlink> will be able to receive the suspendedfunding if it took ‘decisive actions’ against the Haqqani Network and theAfghan Taliban.

link>Pakistanlink> claims the money it had received fromthe US was mainly reimbursements for supporting US-led coalition forcesafter they invaded Afghanistan in 2001. Islamabad also made it clear thatUS aid did not run Pakistan’s the anti-terror or play a significanteconomic role.

Islamabad also threatened to end the partnership if pressed to the limits.Foreign Minister Khawaja Mohammed Asif even publically snubbed Washingtonsaying the alliance with the US was “over”.

Earlier, US Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan said his country could“consider ending a suspension” of security assistance tolink>Pakistanlink> if “decisive and sustained” action wastaken against all the militant groups, referring to the Haqqani Network.

He told the Senate Foreign Relations Committee: “We may consider liftingthe suspension when we see decisive and sustained actions to address ourconcerns, including targeting all terrorist groups operating within itsterritory, without distinction.”

Another official at link> the foreign ministrysaid link>Pakistanlink> was in contact with theMuslim-majority countries to counter the US move. But, he added: “Theinfluential Muslim-majority countries are allies of the US. The others aremere numbers. They do not have international status,” he remarked.

Foreign office spokesperson Dr Mohammed Faisal saidlink>Pakistanlink> was committed to combating terrorismin all its forms and manifestations. “Such motions (like the resolutionbeing considered by the FATF) are aimed to hamper the economic growth oflink>Pakistanlink> ,” he added.

Defence analyst Brig (retd) Harris Nawaz said the US should not targetlink>Pakistanlink> as “Pakistan has given huge sacrificesin the war on terrorism.” He said the US should also monitor India’sintelligence agency, the Research and Analysis Wing, which was involved interrorist activities across link>Pakistanlink> .

“They (the US) are discriminating. They are ignoring India’s terrorism andcriticizing our war on terrorism. This is hard to understand. We have lostlives and money and we are being blamed of sponsoring terrorism,” he argued.