New Delhi: A new ‘credit’ game has begun in Pakistan after the country inched closer to exiting the Financial Action Task Force’s grey list. Pakistani politicians—from PM Shehbaz Sharif to his predecessor Imran Khan—lost no time in saying ‘it’s us’ and ‘we did it.’
What did not go unnoticed is that it was the same politicians who were responsible for the country entering this list in the first place.
When Pakistan finally gets off the FATF grey list there will be many to claim credit. The funniest of them all will be those who were largely responsible for the grey listing of the country.
— Farhatullah Babar (@FarhatullahB) June 18, 2022
“The June 13-17 FATF plenary held in Berlin unanimously cleared, according to junior minister for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, that Pakistan had largely and substantially completed 34 points of two simultaneous action plans against money laundering (ML) and terror financing (TF),” said a Dawn report.
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A ‘credit’ game
After FATF’s announcement that Pakistan had met all of its 34 conditions, Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf (PTI) head and former PM Imran Khan in a series of tweets praised his government for this achievement.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also praised the efforts of Minister of State for foreign affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and the members of her team who represented Pakistan at the meeting.
Sharif said the FATF’s statement was a recognition of the restoration of the international reputation of Pakistan.
Pakistan Peoples Party leaders had their own hero — party chairman and foreign minister Bilawal Bhutto. PPP praised Bhutto’s successful ‘diplomacy’ during his recent foreign visits.
Bhutto, in an official statement said, “I am certain that this good news from FATF will restore confidence in Pakistan’s economy and act as a catalyst for sustained growth and development.”
PM Sharif also spoke to Bhutto over telephone and congratulated him over the achievement.
And thus continued the new game of credit in Pakistan.
Pakistani daily Dawn, in its report titled Many fathers of FATF success, citing information minister Marriyum Aurangzeb said, “the Prime Minister also made a telephone call to the army chief and lauded his decision to set up the core cell at the GHQ”.
Amid this game, military spokesperson termed the development a great achievement.
Completion of FATF AML /CFT action plans by Pak is a great achievement. A monumental effort paving way 4 whitelisting. “Core cell @ GHQ which steered the national effort & civil – military team which synergised implementation of action plan made it possible, making Pak proud”COAS
— DG ISPR (@OfficialDGISPR) June 17, 2022
A Dawn report said, “During telephonic conversation with Gen Bajwa, Sharif praised the civil and military members in the core cell and the military leadership for their efforts.”
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‘Crossed the finish line’
In an article titled ‘On the cusp of FATF exit‘ published in Dawn, Khaleeq Kiani said, “Pakistan has crossed the finish line but has to wait another quarter of the year to secure an international certificate and get out of the list of increased monitoring.”
Kiani wrote, “It has to be remembered that Pakistan was placed on the FATF grey list in June 2010 for strategic deficiencies in AML/CFT regime and came out of it in February 2015.” He said that the journey has been long and tedious but worth treading.
Naveed Hussain’s article in The Express Tribune used a John F Kennedy quote to capture the ‘credit’ game going on in Pakistan. “Victory has a thousand fathers, said JFK. “For me, the practical manifestation of this John F Kennedy quote was never more clear than this past Friday.”
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How FATF’s ban hurt Pakistan
The FATF places those countries on its ‘grey list’ that do not take full measures to combat money laundering and terror financing but have formally committed to doing so.
Pakistan entered the FATF grey list in February 2018 when the PML (N) was in power. The country was given 15 months to improve on 27 action points but it repeatedly missed deadlines.
Exiting the grey list will be critical to Pakistan’s economy.
Congrats Pak! FATF declares both Action Plans complete. Intl community has unanimously ack our efforts. Our success is the result of 4 yrs of challenging journey. Pak reaffirms resolve to continue the momentum and give our economy a boost. Well done Pak Team FATF. Pak Zindabad!
— Hina R Khar (@HinaRKhar) June 17, 2022
Till March this year, while Imran Khan was still in power, Pakistan had completed 32 out of 34 action points. FATF had then insisted on quick action on the remaining objectives.
Acknowledging Imran Khan government’s contribution, an Express Tribune report said, “The PTI government had done most of the work for Pakistan’s removal from the grey list”.
According to a report, citing a working paper by Tabadlab, an Islamabad-based advisory firm, grey listing by FATF from 2008 to 2019 may have resulted in a cumulative GDP loss of $38 billion to Pakistan.
The Tabadlab paper said, “a grey listed country faces complications in accessing international lending instruments.” Major financial institutions like the IMF and World Bank are affiliated with FATF as observers.
“It must be noted that Pakistan has taken several legislative actions to comply with FATF’s…action plan following its placement on the grey list in June 2018,” the research paper had stated.
Executive director at Research Society of International Law (RSIL) Jamal Aziz told Gulf News that “The adverse economic effects of grey-listing are increasingly evident and have an impact on foreign direct investment (FDI) and ease of business.”
Currently, FATF has 39 members including two regional organisations: the European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. India is a member of the FATF consultations and its Asia Pacific Group.
India’s role
In 2021, interior minister in the Imran Khan government Rehman Malik had written a letter to FATF president Dr Marcus Pleyer seeking a probe into India’s role in keeping Pakistan on the grey list. He had also urged Imran Khan to file a petition in International Court of Justice highlighting discrimination against Pakistan.
Indian foreign minister S Jaishankar had said that the Narendra Modi government had ensured Pakistan remained on the list.