India using FATF for political purposes: Qureshi

MULTAN: Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said he has presented his position regarding FATF to the entire nation.

In bilateral talks with the foreign ministers of different countries he had discussed this issue and conveyed his concerns to them. India is using the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for political purposes. FATF is a technical forum and should not be used for political purposes, he said in a statement Monday issued by FM’s media cell here.

The foreign minister said if FATF’s goal is to stop money-laundering and terror financing, then our goal is the same. They will continue to move forward to curb money-laundering and terror financing in their own interest, he added. The FATF and their thinking are common, they are working on their own and they are implementing it according to their goals. The FATF assigned them hard tasks in the last two years and the FATF’s programme was difficult to implement but Pakistan did it. Qureshi said Pakistan has amended 14 laws to follow FATF discipline and made new legislation. Pakistan has taken administrative steps and they not only identified those responsible but also took action against them. As far as diplomatic efforts are concerned, China, Saudi Arabia, Malaysia, Indonesia and the Gulf countries have openly supported Pakistan on this issue, he said, adding, “I think it is important to make it clear that what we did to resolve the FATF issues was in the national interest”. He said Pakistan has refused to give bases to the US in the national interest and the government would continue to take decisions in the national interest. President Biden said the United States has spent one trillion dollars in Afghanistan, trained the army - set up institutions. He said the US opinion is not in favour of US troops to stay in Afghanistan any longer. The US government assured him of continued financial support even after evacuation of troops, he added.

He added that as far as peace is concerned, the decision has to be made by the Afghans themselves. It is up to Afghans to decide what the law should be like there, who will have what powers, who will have what rights, he further added. Pakistan, as a neighbour, is praying for peace and it would continue to help as much as possible, he maintained. The Pakistan policy is very clear, as they want peace, stability and prosperity in Afghanistan. Qureshi said Pakistan wants to double its trade with Afghanistan. They cannot make decisions for Afghans, they can respect their decisions, he added. The Afghan people should put pressure on the parties to settle the issues, he added.

He congratulated the people of South Punjab that for the first time such huge sums have been allocated in the budget for them. He said Pakistan’s judiciary and administration are playing their part and legislatures are playing their responsible role. It has been ensured that the budget of South Punjab is spent on the development of South Punjab. In previous periods, only 17% of the development fund was spent on 33% of the population. Prime Minister Imran Khan has laid the foundation stone of South Punjab Secretariat, he added.

Qureshi said he had a detailed meeting with additional chief secretary South Punjab and other secretaries Sunday. He said the meeting briefed him about a complete schedule according to which the transfer of 63 acres of land for South Punjab Secretariat has been completed. The practical work of South Punjab Secretariat will start in the first week of August, he added.