PHOTO: AFP
NEW DELHI: Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will closely be monitoring Pakistan’s enforcement of UN financial sanctions against terrorism, through its associate body, the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG), after India successfully blocked China’s attempt at a recent FATF meet in Brisbane to save non-FATF member Pakistan from such scrutiny.
India also pressed for freezing of economic resources and properties of Hafiz Saeed, Dawood Ibrahim and Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi under provisions of the United Nations Security Council (UNSC).
According to the India Today, top Indian government sources said that despite China’s intervention stating that Pakistan was not a member of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and hence the issue could not be taken up at the forum, India managed to ensure that Islamabad is kept under scrutiny to comply with UNSC provisions under which it should freeze the terror trio's economic resources.
The matter was taken up at the FATF conference in Brisbane held between June 21 and 26. FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 with the aim of combating money laundering and terror financing.
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According to sources in the government, with the support of allies like the US, India managed to derail China’s bid which was backed by Australia to shield Pakistan on terror financing.
The FATF meeting agreed with India’s argument that Pakistan, despite not being part of FATF, was part of APG which works in close collaboration with FATF, and it’s enforcement of targeted financial sanctions against terrorism should be subject to monitoring by FATF through the APG.
Last week at the FATF meeting, the US and India spoke up against Pakistan’s lack of conviction by freezing assets in implementing anti-terror financial sanctions or attaching properties of 26/11 masterminds Hafiz Saeed and Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi and 1993 Mumbai blasts accused Dawood Ibrahim etc. China argued that Pakistan was doing enough and reporting on the action taken to APG.
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As Pakistan listed only unnamed accounts, without identifying their origins and their implications for the group’s functioning, in its report submitted to APG, India was not satisfied.
At FATF’s meet, an arrangement was worked out wherein Pakistan’s action on terror financing will be evaluated by APG, which will then refer the issue to the FATF.
This article originally appeared on Times of India
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