3 FATF-RELATED BILLS PASSED IN PAK, 1 BLOCKED

Islamabad, Sept. 16: A joint sitting of Pakistan’s Parliament on Wednesday passed three crucial Financial Action Task Force-related legislations, as part of the government’s efforts to escape from being blacklisted by the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.

President Arif Alvi called the joint sitting of both houses of Parliament on Wednesday evening after Senate earlier in the day rejected the Anti-Terrorism Act (amendment) Bill, 2020, making it the third FATF-related legislation to have been blocked by the Opposition-dominated upper house.

Last month, the Anti-Money Laundering (Second Amendment) Bill and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) Waqf Properties Bill, were rejected by Senate. The three legislations were part of efforts by Pakistan to move from the FATF’s grey list to the white list. Under the 18th Amendment, if a bill passed by one house of Parliament is rejected by the other, it can become a law only if it is passed by a joint sitting of the two houses.

Prime Minister Imran Khan attended the joint session which was chaired by National Assembly Speaker Asad Qaiser. The opposition staged a walk out after most of their proposed amendments to the bills were rejected and they were not allowed to speak.

Khan thanked lawmakers who voted in favour of the legislations for “standing with their country”. He said that the opposition’s “attitude” on the bills showed that the “interests of [opposition parties] and their leaders were the opposite of Pakistan’s interests”.