Pakistan seeks Kabul route to escape FATF

Pakistan hopes its role as facilitator of evacuation from Afghanistan by the US and allied forces will help it escape from being fixed by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for failing to curb flow of funds into
terrorism.
 
If opportunism is an inherent part of diplomacy, then Pakistan has mastered that art, observers note. It was economic crisis earlier. Then it was the Covid-19 pandemic and now it is the logistic support being
lent to the US and other forces as they withdraw from Afghanistan. Pakistan knows it is needed, and is willing to do it – for a fee, of course.
 
Besides that fee that would run into millions of dollars, Prime Minister Imran Khan’s government and its military mentors think they can bargain with the US to get out of the FATF-laid dragnet. This is the time
to demand that proverbial “pound of flesh”.   
 
While there is official silence, Pakistani security analyst Muhammad Amir Rana says the government “is anticipating substantial relief for Pakistan” when FTF’s plenary session convenes later this month.
Rana points out that “The US and its Nato allies need Pakistan during and after the withdrawal of their forces from Afghanistan.”
 
But he cautions, writing in Dawn newspaper (June 13, 2021) that  “If Pakistan anticipates some relief from Western countries, it should not ignore the Tehreek-i-Labbaik Pakistan (TLP)  factor, which has
annoyed not only France but also its allies.” The Pakistan government banned the TLP, but at the same time, also held negotiations and reached a pact, which raised doubts among the world community, both about its intentions and its capability.
 
One of the chief TLP demands is to expel the French envoy in Islamabad since the French Government defended the Charlie Hedbo cartoons allegedly caricaturing the Prophet.
Rana says the government’s move debate the TLP’s demand in parliament “has created real concern in Western capitals. France is an effective member of the FATF and along with its allies it could make
Pakistan’s position weak.”
 
He points out that the UK recently placed Pakistan on its list of high-risk countries for money laundering and terror financing, and “official circles are linking this development with the TLP and the UK’s
solidarity with France.”
 
There is another point, not a new one though, that cannot escape global scrutiny, whether or not it is time for an FATF meeting. Each time there is global scrutiny and/or a FATF meeting is scheduled, known terrorists and militant bodies go underground.
 
Rana notes that “apparently, banned outfits like the Jamaat-ud-Dawa and Jaish-e-Mohammad have disappeared from the scene, but many experts believe these groups are in hibernation and will become
active whenever they find a conducive environment. Meanwhile, the TLP has emerged as a new challenge, which is making Pakistan’s task to get out of the grey list a difficult one.”
 
While Lashkar-e-Toyaba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed is in jailon money-laundering charge, there is no evidence of any action against Jaish-e-Mohammed chief Masood Azhar and his operational
commanders.
 
The Pakistan Govnment has taken heart from the task it has performed as follow-up to the actions demanded by the FATF in the February meeting this year. Medias reports indicate that although it admits to many points not covered, the government is seeking to project a positive picture of what it has done, displaying the proverbial glass half-full, rather than tell the world of the empty half, meaning
failure to complete the task.
 
The government is also projecting the Afghanistan issue as not one of diplomatic triumph but one of problems ahead if  no political solution is arrive at in the neighbouring country by the time the foreign troops leave. Prime Minister Khan has expressed ‘fears’ of the civil war spilling across the border and hurting the Pakistani society with more refugees, drugs and violence.