As the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) meeting continues in Paris, the cash-trapped Pakistan has again failed to reassure the members of the FATF in terms of banning Terror Financing. Pakistan has met only 6 of the 27 conditions set by the FATF in order to stop Terror Financing by countries requiring FATF clearance. This simply means that Pakistan which is currently in the gray list, can be put in the dark gray list.
The dark gray list is another stage between the gray-list and the black list. That is, after putting a country in the dark-gray list, there may be further restrictions and this will be the last chance for Pakistan to improve on its commitments. If Pakistan fails to take action on Terror Financing this time, then it is bound to be blacklisted.
The final decision on the future of Pakistan will be taken on the last day of the FATF meeting i.e. on 18 October.
It has to be known that most of the countries in the FATF are unhappy with the steps taken by Pakistan to stop Terror Financing. It is due to this that most countries believe that Pakistan is almost certain to be included in the blacklist but for the 3 countries which are strongly pushing in favor of Pakistan not to be included in the Blacklist in FATF. These are China, Turkey and Malaysia. Hence there is some hope for Pakistan that it will be given a chance by relegating it only to the dark-gray list instead of immediately being included in the blacklist.
It can be recalled that the Financial Action Task Force was set up by the United Nations Security Council in 1989 to stop the worldwide financial networks of terror organisations.
In June 2018, the same FATF put Pakistan in the gray-list as it had failed to take steps to prevent Terror Financing. Now after being put in the dark-gray list, it will become almost impossible for Pakistan, already debt-ridden, to seek financial assistance from organizations like IMF, World Bank, European Union etc. This may prove to be the final nail in the coffin for the already sinking Pakistan economy.
