New Delhi: Days before the plenary meet of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad has openly expressed support to Pakistan by saying it “acknowledged” Pakistan’s “extensive” counter-terrorism efforts.
According to a joint statement, which was issued Tuesday after Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan’s two-day visit to Kuala Lumpur, the Malaysian PM has “acknowledged the extensive counter-terrorism efforts by Pakistan and progress it continue to make in complying with the recommendations of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF)”.
Khan was on a visit to Kuala Lumpur from 3-4 February.
Pakistan faces the possibility of getting blacklisted at the upcoming FATF plenary, scheduled to take place from 16-21 February at FATF headquarters in Paris. At present, the country is in the ‘grey’ list — signifying weaknesses in its financial system that encourages terror financing and money-laundering. FATF is a terror financing watchdog.
Blacklisting would mean disaster for Pakistan, which is now expecting the third tranche of loan from the International Monetary Fund under its $6 billion loan package that was approved last year.
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‘Won’t be easy for Pakistan to come out of the grey list’
Malaysia had played a crucial role in saving Pakistan from getting blacklisted even at the last plenary meet of the FATF that took place in October 2019.
Pakistan has been in and out of the FATF’s grey list since 2008. In June 2018, the global financing watchdog had set a 27-Point Action Plan for Pakistan, which it was expected to meet by October 2019. But Pakistan could only fulfill five targets.
“Pakistan has been ably playing out between the Saudis and Malaysia. Malaysia is now a new friend of Pakistan. It will be helpful for Pakistan to keep Malaysia on friendly terms and ensure it does not get blacklisted. But it will not be easy to come out of the grey list also,” said Sharat Sabharwal, former High Commissioner of India to Pakistan.
Last month, during a sub-group meeting of the FATF in Beijing, China had said that Pakistan has made “great efforts to strengthen its domestic counter-terrorism financing system with visible progress” and that its actions to curb terror financing should be “recognised and encouraged by the international community”.
Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat had said last month that if blacklisting of Pakistan does not go through, then more hard action will have to be taken.
Meanwhile, Raveesh Kumar, Spokesperson, Ministry of External Affairs, had said that it is for the members of the FATF now to decide whether Pakistan has fulfilled all its targets.
‘Immense suffering to the Kashmiri people’
During their joint bilateral meeting, Khan and Mahathir also discussed the communication lockdown in Kashmir, much to India’s discontent that calls it an “internal matter”.
Prime Minister Khan raised the issue of Kashmir with Mahathir and discussed “illegal and unilateral actions of the Indian government on 5 August 2019 and the ensuing lockdown, communications blockade, media blackout and illegal detentions in Jammu and Kashmir which have brought immense suffering to the Kashmiri people,” according to the joint statement.
“The Prime Minister of Pakistan appreciated the efforts of Prime Minister Mahathir for raising awareness regarding the situation and underscoring the imperative of peaceful resolution of the Jammu & Kashmir dispute,” it added.
The issue of Kashmir has become a source of severe consternation between New Delhi and Kuala Lumpur.
Last year, during his address to the United Nations General Assembly, Mahathir had said India had “invaded and occupied” Kashmir by scrapping Article 370 and Article 35A.
“Pakistan now knows that Malaysia will be supporting Islamabad’s cause when it comes to Kashmir, and that is why it keeps discussing this issue with Malaysia,” said former Indian envoy Sabharwal.
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India slowly being isolated
Amusingly, never seen statements from leader of a supposed sovereign state accept that he wanted to come for the summit but wasnt allowed by KSA! His diplomatic acumen or naivety, lay exposed when he essentially blamed KSA for not taking up islamic values! IT will be an interesting explanation when he goes back palms extended!
India needs to aggressively bring to notice to the world, the plight of thousands of missing people in Pakistan, the fear of blasphemy laws that minorities rights are oppressed with, barbaric treatment of PTM, Baloch. jailing of political opponents under false charges. The concept of Ketuanan Melayu or Malay supremacy that undermines minorities rights with institutionalised discrimination in Malaysia! Religious discrimination at all levels of society! Both so called keepers of Islam, should be called out for their comfortable silence on plight of Uighur muslims in china!