US motion to put Pakistan on terror financing watchlist differed

ISLAMABAD: The United States (US) has failed in its bid to put Pakistan on the global terror financing watch-list as member states could not reach consensus during an ongoing Financial Action Task Force (FATF) conference in Paris.

Undoubtedly, Pakistan has made determined efforts to avoid US unjustified bid to place the country on the global list of countries that finance terrorism. The country made serious diplomatic approach to to avert being added to the watch-list, winning a last-minute reprieve at the Financial Action Task Force’s meeting.

Pakistan has sent top officials to plead its case in Financial Action Task Force meet in Paris.

The announcement came from Foreign Minister Khwaja Asif as he tweeted early on Wednesday thanking ‘friends’ who helped Pakistan avoid a bid of major international embarrassment.

Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif tweeted that the US has failed in its bid against Pakistan, adding that there was ‘no consensus on nominating Pakistan for the list’ and that he was ‘grateful to the friends who helped’ in the process.

Asif said that Pakistan’s efforts have paid off, and the Paris conference has deferred voting for three months.

The six-day conference of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) continues in the French capital. The meeting was due to vote on a US motion to put Pakistan on the global terror watch-list.

Earlier this month, The United States has put forward a motion to place Pakistan on a global terrorist-financing watchlist with an anti-money-laundering monitoring group.

The US and the UK have reportedly moved a motion to place Pakistan on the FATF terrorist-financing watch-list. France and Germany are co-sponsoring the move.

Reuters adds:

In Washington, a State Department official, speaking on condition of anonymity, could not confirm that FATF deferred action for three months, pointing out that the organization’s deliberations are confidential until it makes them public.

The international community continues to have concerns about deficiencies in Pakistan’s anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing system even though Islamabad has begun taking steps to address the flaws, said the State Department official without elaborating.