THE Financial Action Task Force has announced that Pakistan would remain on its grey list for further monitoring for another four months. In this period, the country will have to improve its financial transaction mechanisms so that these are not misused by terrorists and criminals. Apart from other measures related to effective investigation and prosecution, and the implementation of eventual sanctions, Pakistan would also have to make more laws in order to comply with the mutually agreed action plan.
Pakistan amended or made almost three dozen laws during the past year to meet the FATF requirements. All these changes and new laws were essential to bring Pakistan out of the FATF’s grey list in order to dispel the negative impression about the country’s ‘soft stance’ towards certain militant groups. More than a year ago, the Supreme Court had also recommended that parliament develop a new and comprehensive legal definition of terrorism. Apparently, as the Supreme Court judgment did not detail any punitive consequences, the government did not take it seriously despite the fact that a clear definition of terrorism would have not only brought clarity to counterterrorism functions but would also have improved the government’s performance in implementing FATF-related measures.