Pak okays law to ban Hafiz Saeed, seize assets
NEW DELHI: Pakistan has quietly amended its anti-terror law to ban those listed as terrorists by the UN, including Hafiz Saeed and the JuD, and framed new regulations to seize their assets in a bid to stave off a US move to put the country on the watch list of the Financial Action Task Force.
On Friday, President Mamnoon Hussain promulgated an ordinance to amend the Anti-Terrorism Act of 1997 so that individuals and groups listed as terrorist entities by the UNSC would be proscribed within the country.
A cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on Tuesday gave in-principle approval to the Anti-Terrorism (Freezing and Seizure) Rules 2018, an official statement said.
Sources in Islamabad said this was a step towards formal action to freeze bank accounts and seize assets of groups such as the Jamaat-ud-Dawah and Falah-eInsaniyat Foundation that have been sanctioned by the UNSC under Resolution 1267.
The moves came days ahead of a plenary FATF meet, to be held in Paris during February 18-23, that will assess whether Pakistan has complied with the body’s recommendations to curb terror financing and money laundering.
The US and Britain put forward a motion several weeks ago to place Pakistan on the FATF’s watch list, the country’s de facto finance minister Miftah Ismail told Reuters on Tuesday.
“We are now working with the US, UK, Germany and France for the nomination to be withdrawn,” Ismail said. “We are also quite hopeful that even if the US did not withdraw the nomination that we will prevail and not be put on the watch list.”
If Pakistan fails to clear the review, it could be placed in the “grey list” of FATF, which would result in stringent checks on international transactions, foreign investments and commercial lending. Pakistan was on the list from February 2012 to February 2015, when all financial transactions were monitored by FATF.
The ordinance promulgated by the Pakistani president amended Section 11B of the Anti-Terrorism Act (related to bans on groups) and Section 11EE (related to bans on individuals). The amendments state that entities sanctioned by the UNSC will be proscribed in Pakistan on an “ex parte basis”.