Politicians should avoid damaging the country’s position in the international sphere
KARACHI: Recently, one of the youngest politicians to become a chairman of a political party, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari of the Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) alleged that three federal ministers of the ruling party had links with proscribed organisations. Bilawal Bhutto also demanded removal of the three from the cabinet. In this crucial time, when Pakistan is under scrutiny by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for terror financing, such statements threaten Pakistan’s position as it is already on the grey list and can be demoted to the black list. The country’s efforts to curb terrorism will be reviewed in the next two FATF conferences, the first of which will be held in May. So far, Pakistan has made extraordinary efforts against terror financing, as stated by the FATF in its last conference. However, the final decision — on whether Pakistan will remain on the grey list, or worse, be put on the black list — will be made in the second FATF conference in September 2019 in Paris. During this crucial time, political leaders should be very careful with their words as they can be used against the larger interest of Pakistan and its prosperity. As we already know, India tried but failed to enlist Pakistan in the black list in previous FATF conferences, by alleging Pakistan was aiding terror organisations. Due to this, Bilawal Bhutto’s allegations are a cause for concern as they could be used by our neighbour who is understood not to have our best interest at heart. The Indian media has already adopted Bilawal’s narrative and the international media might follow suit. With such a narrative, the sacrifices and efforts of the armed forces and the people of Pakistan will never be acknowledged. Our politicians should bear in mind the consequences of the narratives they propagate, and keep their political interest aside and avoid damaging the country’s position in the international sphere.
Aleem Quraishi
Published in The Express Tribune, March 24th, 2019.
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