WHY PAKISTAN IS NOT A TERRORIST STATE YET: US STATE DEPARTMENT EXPLAINS

The National Action Plan conveys the government’s intention to cut the financial sources of terrorists and terrorist organisations.Hundi/hawala offences under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act of 1947 were designated as predicate offences under the AntiMoney Laundering Act of 2010. In January 2015, the government lowered the threshold for currency transaction reports from $25,000 to approximately $20,000.

Despite military and police action against certain UN-designated organisations, throughout 2015 other UN-designated organisations continued to operate within Pakistan, employing economic resources under their control, and fundraising openly. The November PEMRA ban of electronic media coverage of domestically banned organisations and UN-designated organisations may reduce the public profiles of those organisations and reduce their ability to collect donations.

Money transfer systems persisted throughout much of Pakistan, especially along its long border with Afghanistan, and may be abused by drug traffickers and terrorist financiers operating in the cross-border area.

While Pakistani authorities did report having frozen assets of UN-designated entities during 2015, the amount was unclear. The US government was not informed of any successful terrorism-financing prosecutions in 2015.

From July 2014 to May 2015, Pakistan received 1919 Suspicious Transaction Reports, of which 855 were analysed and 320 disseminated. The State Bank of Pakistan prescribed specific regulations for the opening of bank accounts by NGOs, non-profit organisations, and charities.