Still grey

The Financial Action Task Force has decided to keep Pakistan on its 'Grey List' as a country to be kept under watch, until June this year, when a specially organised plenary will once again examine Pakistan's situation and determine its fate. Pakistan has stayed off the ‘Black List’, which would have been its worst nightmare, as it would have brought additional economic sanctions. The FATF has said that while Pakistan has made positive steps towards dealing with financing the terrorism in the country, out of the list of 27 measures it had been given, three still need to be worked upon further and had only been partially completed. The FATF has stressed the need for effective action against terrorists and organisations which back terrorism so that the problem can be halted. It has suggested the three areas of concern for the organisation, which include the issue of money still going to over 1000 persons or groups, which have been defined as terrorist in the country. It is not known if recent terrorist actions, such as the attack on four women who were killed in North Waziristan had any impact on the FATF's deliberations.

The organisation has however made it clear it is not an investigation agency and cannot say if Pakistan is in any way aiding or abetting terrorism. It has also told India that terrorism from India will be watched when the occasion arises and if this is required. The FATF announcement is perhaps not unexpected for Pakistan. The country has worked hard over the past years to remove itself from the list, including tight regulations by the State Bank over money coming into banks, notably from overseas sources and money moving outside the country, as well as other methods frequently used by militant organizations. It will now have to step up its efforts just a little in order to remove itself from the grey and go back into the white where it should belong.

We hope, for the sake of the economy and for the sake of the status of the country, that this would be possible over the months up till June. Pakistan now badly needs to remove itself from the grey list so that it can move forward at its own will and with its own strategies on dealing with terrorism and financing for terrorism in order to ensure that the problem is dealt with effectively and for a long term.