ISLAMABAD – Placing Pakistan on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) greylist in June and squeezing its economic potential to meet its foreignfinancing needs will not cause a shift in Islamabad’s security andstrategic calculus, as reported by the *Economic Times.*link>
Factual evidence, both historic and current, according to an articlepublished in *The Diplomat*suggests that Pakistan has survived previousrounds of international pressure and there is scant evidence that this timearound as well that its strategic and security calculus may not shift thistime too.
According to Uzair Younus, Director of the Albright Stonebridge Group, aWashington DC-based think tank, and author of the article, “The strategy tomainstream the LeT has not been abandoned: the Milli Muslim League (MML), apolitical party associated with Hafiz Saeed, was launched last year.”
“United States officials have also said that they have not seen any visibleaction by the Pakistanis against the Haqqani Network and its facilitators.Civil society continues to be targeted, with Pashtun youth organisingagainst extra-judicial killings by security forces bearing the brunt inrecent days,” he states further.
He suggests that Pakistan and its security establishment have always hadthe protection of one or more international patrons, including the UnitedStates.
“What is different this time around is that China and Saudi Arabia,strategic partners that have historically supported Pakistan, havesignalled that they will not unconditionally stand by their ally”, and thatIslamabad faces the risk of greater international isolation if it refusesto alter its strategic posture with or without a nudge from China.
It is being said that those that have closely followed Pakistan would arguethat even a cautiously optimistic assessment is too optimistic.
In his article, Younus cautions Pakistan to view the FATF decision withsome concern, given that the Trump Administration has made and continues tomake concerted efforts to coerce Islamabad not to support of non-statearmed groups such as the Haqqani Network and the Laskhar-e-Taiba (LeT),besides other terror outfits.
Washington, Younus opines has even shown a willingness to squeezePakistan’s finances if required to make it bend. He says, “Sensing that theUnited States would use the FATF’s February meeting to up the ante,Islamabad began to set its house in order.
Pakistani President Mamnoon Hussain issued an ordinance that amended thecountry’s 1997 Anti-Terrorism Act and placed Hafiz Saeed’s Jamaat-ud-Dawa(JuD) and Falah-i-Insaniat Foundation (FIF) on the country’s bannedorganizations list.
The government followed up by taking over both organizations’ assets, whichincludes thousands of staff and volunteers and dozens of schools andclinics.”