The greylisting by Paris-based international watchdog Financial Action Task Force (FATF) has forced Islamabad to take action, albeit in a limited sense, against some of the UN-designated terrorists however with the possibility of getting out from the grey list now, Pakistan seems to be already heading back to its old games.
Pakistan’s recent action on Lashkar e Taiba (LeT) operational commander Sajid Mir, which it kept on declaring dead until now, is the result of FATF’s persistent pressure on Pakistan. It also shows duplicity and insincerity on the part of Pakistan to deal effectively against terrorists that reside and operate in the country, reported South Asia Press.
It is a well-known fact that LeT has changed its name several times in the last two decades and continues to operate in Pakistan. It was known as Jamat ud Dawa (JuD) for some time now but when that was banned, it reincarnated itself as Falah e Insaniyat Foundation which also came under scrutiny and is now called Allah u Akbar Tehreek.
The persistent question once again arises will FATF’s pressure make Pakistan deliver on other UN-designated terrorists including Jaish-e-Mohammad (JeM) chief Maulana Masood Azhar? It seems unlikely.
Pakistan maintains that Azhar is not present in Pakistan and likely to be in Afghanistan. Despite claims by Pakistan that he is not traceable, he continues to publish articles on Pakistani social media networks exhorting JeM cadres to indulge in Jihad and eulogizing the Taliban takeover of Kabul, claiming that Taliban victory would open avenues for Muslim victories elsewhere, reported South Asia Press.
It appears that despite the FATF retaining Pakistan in its “grey list” for money laundering and terror financing, leaders of Pakistan-based proscribed organizations like the JuD and JeM have been able to continue with their activities, inciting youth for Jihad, conducting training camps and seeking donations through banners and social media posts, according to South Asia Press investigations.
In one such recent incident, a Friday sermon at district Okara (Punjab), on February 18 this year was delivered by Maulana Naser Javed, a central JuD leader. South Asia Press was able to secure an audio file of the sermon, which can be found here.
In the sermon, he claimed that a few days after the fall of the Kabul government and the occupation of Afghanistan by the Taliban, a delegation from Afghanistan had come to meet Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, JuD chief.
Furthermore, Allah-o-Akbar Tehreek (AAT) is very active on social media in the relief work for floods in Pakistan. It is using social media platforms to seek donations, which may likely end up in funding jihadi activities, as reported by another South Asia Press investigation a few weeks ago, which can be found here.
Regretfully, instead of undertaking due actions to counter money laundering, Pakistan has resorted to making unfounded allegations of politicization of FATF. Pakistan’s continued inaction on key compliances of the FATF regime holds potential adverse consequences for not only the security of the region but beyond.