Reacting sharply to FATF’s decision of blacklisting Pakistan on money-laundering issue for merely missing a particular deadline, the government has derided it as being “unjustified and unreasonable”.
The government has taken the stance that the international watchdog on money laundering, Financial Action Task Force (FATF), took a unilateral decision by asking Islamabad to amend Anti Terrorism Act (ATA) 1997 for freezing assets and other stern action on charges of terrorist financing by the February 12, 2012 deadline.
In an intriguing ‘coincidence’ of timing, FATF, which is effectively controlled by the United States, included Pakistan in the list of blacklisted countries on the eve of the state visit of the Iranian president.
According to a top government functionary, the action of blacklisting Pakistan ostensibly for “not taking steps to root out terrorist financing” is little more than a pressurising tactic to force Pakistan into toeing the US line vis-à-vis Iran and regional political priorities. There are 36 member countries of FATF and India has also joined its fold.
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