ISLAMABAD: Pakistan has frozen accounts of over 5,000 suspected terrorists, clinching some $3 million from them. However, Islamabad could still be scrutinised at a crucial June meeting of internation watchdog, the Financial Action Task Force. Scheduled to meet in Spain next month, the organisation will update its assessment of “high-risk and non-cooperative jurisdictions” said Alexandra Wijmenga-Daniel of the task force's communications department.
Formed in 1989 to combat money laundering, the 35-nation intergovernmental organisation took on the role of fighting the financing of terrorism after the unfortunate 9/11. The task force holds much credentials and getting on its “black list” could potentially hurt a country's ability to borrow. Pak was exempted from its scrutiny in 2015, after a similar session. However, eyebrows were raised after banned groups such as Lashkar-e-Taiba emerged under new names. Muhammad Amir Rana, director of Islamabad-based Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies said, “The government has to find a way to completely ban individuals and groups from operating. This is the only way.”
In the meantime, Pak's National Counter Terrorism Authority has begun devising anti-terror financing policies, freezing bank accounts of known terrorist groups and identifying those that have resurfaced with different names. Director Ishan Ghani said the group, established in 2013 is “still in its formative stage”. He blamed a lack of commitment from the government and jurisdictional battles within the bureaucracy for the slow start. Ghani informed that the NACTA's current lists are outdated, with several suspected terrorists either dead or in jail.
He added the names have been slow in coming, due to outdated systems, political foot-dragging and a lack of focus on counterterrorism despite military and police operations against suspected hideouts- particularly in Pak's tribal regions.
