DURING her recent visit to Pakistan, Lisa Curtis raised Washington’sconcerns about gaps in Pakistan’s anti-terrorist financing controls andfund-raising by militants. This message was superfluous, as the US hadalready decided to punish Pakistan through the FATF, as part of its new‘strategy’, which posits that the US can win the Afghan war, by gettingtough with Pakistan.
This action has further infuriated most Pakistanis and added to thealienation of the US in Pakistan. Ms Curtis is known in South Asia for herbias in favour of India and her association with Hussain Haqqani, theformer Pakistani Ambassador in the US, who now makes a living by demonisinghis own country.
Though Haqqani is wanted by Pakistani courts for ‘waging war againstPakistan’ and ‘hatching criminal conspiracy’ against the State, he is now aDirector at the Hudson Institute, which receives US government funding,among others.
Persistent hostile US actions against Pakistan at the FATF and elsewhere,could please the Afghan rulers, as they absolve them of their incompetence;or India, as they enable it to conceal its atrocities in Kashmir, but theyare damaging the Pak-US relations beyond repair. During his latesttestimony before the US Armed Services Committee, General Votel, Commanderof the US Central Command, was candid to appreciate Pakistani actions to‘expand border control mechanisms and efforts to improve paramilitarysecurity capabilities’.
He acknowledged Pakistan’s sacrifices in the war against terrorism,maintained that Pakistan’s cooperation remained imperative for the successof the US policies and hinted at ‘positive indicators from Pakistan—’.While repeating some old allegations, he admitted that cross-borderterrorist attacks between Pakistan and Afghanistan hinder both countries’abilities to coordinate on border security. He also termed themilitary-to-military relationship with Pakistan as valuable.
While some of these statements indicate a better comprehension of theregional milieu by the US DoD, its actions are constrained by a fallaciousand prejudiced strategy at the top, that is slowly but surely going to endthe Pakistan-US partnership. When this happens, it will immensely benefitthe terrorists on either side of the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.
Going back to the FATF drama, it is important to trace its genesis. TheLeT, which supported the Kashmir cause and the UN Resolution on Kashmir,were blamed by India for the terrorists attack on its Parliament in 2001and thereafter the Mumbai bombing in 2008.
The US named the LeT, as a terrorist organization in December 2001,pursuant to Executive Order 13224. In 2014, the US amended LeT’sdesignations to include Jama’at-ud-Dawa (JUD), a popular charity cumpreaching foundation, as an alias organization of the LeT. US persons orentities can’t engage in any transactions with such persons and entities.
Under UNSC Resolution 1267 of 2001 and 1822 of 2008, the UN listed HafizMuhammad Saeed, as a terrorist for his alleged association with LeT andAl-Qaeda in December 2008. Some details of these accusations, oddly termedas ‘narrative’, have also been provided by the UN on its website, but theseare not substantiated by any evidence.
Since 2012, the United States has offered a US $10 millioný reward forinformation about Hafiz Saeed’s involvement in terrorism. Such information,if any, has not been shared with Pakistan. Pakistan banned the LeT in 2002,the JUD in 2005 and took over control of the Saeed’s other charityfoundations on 14 Feb 2018.
It must be noted that US law is not valid in Pakistan and Islamabad is onlyobliged to follow the UN Resolutions, under which arrest of Hafiz Saeed isnot an obligation without any proven crime or evidence. Doing so will be aviolation of Pakistani laws and human rights.
Under UN Resolutions, Pakistan is required to freeze the financial assetsof Hafiz Saeed, which it has done, though Hafiz Saeed has repeatedly deniedhis association with any terrorist’s attacks. Under US pressure, Pakistanhas been detaining and placing Saeed under house arrest, off and on, under‘Maintenance of Public Order’ as there are no charges against him inPakistani courts. Pakistan has been requesting for credible evidenceagainst Saeed from India since 2008, but New Delhi has failed to providethis, so far.
Thus, any US and Indian concerns over the freedom of Pakistani courtverdicts, to release Saeed due to absence of proof, are unwarranted and area meddling in the internal matters of Pakistan.
Through these actions, the Indo-US nexus is openly using the UN, and nowthe FATF to tarnish Pakistani image, hurt its economy and dilute theKashmiri’s struggle for self-determination, promised to them by the UN.
The UN is mandated to address the root causes of terrorism and not itssymptoms. It needs to implement its resolutions on Kashmir, shun itssupport to foreign occupations and censor violations of human rights inIndia. While doing so, it might designate Modi as a terrorist for orderingthe killing of thousands of Indian Muslims, innocent Kashmiris andPakistanis.
The US is further embroiling itself in South Asian conflicts by siding withIndia and linking Kashmir with the events in Afghanistan, which is clearlyreckless. Will any one in the Trump team has the mettle to admit thissimple reality and make a course correction in its disastrous South Asiapolicy?
The change might include black listing India at the FATF for terrorfinancing to sabotage the CPEC, abetting terrorism in Balochistan, FATA andSindh, money laundering through MQM London and dissipating Pakistaniefforts to manage its western borders.
While Pakistan must strengthen its own banking and financial laws, asoutlined in the NAP, it need not worry too much about the FATF, as it isneither a formal international organization, nor can it invite legal orpenal proceedings. Like in the past, any future extortion through the FATFshould strengthen our will and resilience to survive, besides making usmore self-reliant.
Raza Muhammad Khan — The writer, a retired Lt Gen, is former president ofNational Defence University, Islamabad.