ISLAMABAD: Former Interior Minister Rehman Malik has written to FATF Chairman Dr Marcus Pleier, seeking a probe into India’s role in placing Pakistan on the gray list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
He has also written a letter to Prime Minister Imran Khan urging him to file a petition in the International Court of Justice (ICJ) against FATF’s discrimination and Pakistan’s continued persecution.
In his letter to the FATF President, Mr Malik, who is also the Chairman of the Institute of Research and Reforms, called for an inquiry into the Indian Foreign Minister’s confession by a special FATF team to uncover the truth.
He said that India is behind keeping Pakistan in the gray list, due to the political pressure and influence of some countries, FATF is not taking Pakistan out of the gray list.
In his confessional statement, the Indian External Affairs Minister said: “The Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government has ensured that Pakistan remains in the ‘Grey List’ of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). It is because of us that Pakistan FATF is is in the eyes of and has been kept in the gray list.
Mr Malik said the acknowledgment by the Indian Foreign Minister had raised a big question on the integrity and transparency of the FATF and reaffirmed India’s involvement in pushing Pakistan to the gray list.
“Unfortunately, the FATF has not yet taken any action against the Indian minister to prove the neutrality of the FATF,” he said.
“Despite clear evidence of involvement in the heinous crimes of terrorism financing, money laundering and even nuclear proliferation, India is being spared and no legal action has been initiated by the FATF against it,” the letter said. is going.”
He said that some hostile countries are using FATF as a tool to bring Pakistan under pressure with malafide intentions.
In his letter to the Prime Minister, he said that the continued victimization of Pakistan by FATF is a matter of great concern to the people of the country as it is harming not only its economy but also its credibility at the international level.
He said that Pakistan has been on the gray list since June 2018 and every plenary session the FATF decides that Pakistan will remain in the gray list.
He said this is discrimination against Pakistan, especially when its compliance in meeting the demands of the FATF was more than 88 per cent.
He said it was strange that many other FATF-compliant states were enjoying full immunity. “USA has 22.5pc, France 2pc, Israel 12.5pc and Japan 27.5pc, but none of these states have been placed in the gray list.
Published in Dawn, November 5, 2021
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