Pakistan cannot win the war against terrorism until the problems of corruption and money laundering are addressed
KARACHI: Money laundering has been one of the major obstacles to the economic progress of Pakistan. The US State Department’s International Narcotics Control Strategy Report has once again highlighted massive money laundering inside the country.
The report finds that despite efforts by the government to track the illicit money, the system of prosecution and conviction is inadequate. There is a great deal of lacunae in our anti-money laundering system. Money-laundering rackets are using various new channels of transferring the illegal money. For example, money exchange facilities and hawala/hundi systems have been the major sources of their transactions. In addition to that, they also transfer their money through trust and charity organisations’ accounts. Since the accounts of these organisations are never audited, they become an easy way for saving their money.
In order to resolve this catastrophic problem, Pakistan needs to strengthen its law enforcement and judicial system. The government should also solicit support from developed countries and import new technology. General (retd) Raheel Sharif was right when he stated that Pakistan cannot win the war against terrorism until the problems of corruption and money laundering are addressed.
Allahyar Khan Kalwar
Published in The Express Tribune, March 7th, 2017.
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