Pakistan's attempts -Too Little, Too Late

Pakistan's attempts to draft an anti-terror law should be treated with the scepticism it deserves

Islamabad has, it appears, finally made a symbolic move on fighting terror: The establishment has pushed itself, or been pushed into, drafting a Bill that will seek to ban various terror outfits such as the Jamaat-ud-Dawa'h, and other terrorist elements on its soil. So, face value or pinch of salt? The latter, we are afraid to say.

It is an established fact now that whenever faced with international pressure, the Pakistanis' go-to response has been to arrest or announce blanket bans on terrorists and terror outfits in the country. Lashkar-e-Tayyeba co-founder and chief of the Jamaat-ud-Dawa'h, Hafiz Saeed, who has also been named as a global terrorist by the United Nations, has been detained and put under house arrest countless times, still he enjoys a free run; he's been holding public rallies and spreading his political wings without much let of hindrance courtesy the Pakistan Army. This time, though, the trigger for the law seems to have come from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an inter-governmental body formed to ensure international coordination in combating money laundering, financing of terrorism and proliferation of weapons of mass destruction. It was during a meeting in February when the FATF gave a go-ahead to a nomination paper filed jointly by the US, UK, France, and Germany to place Pakistan on the international watchdog's money-laundering and terror-financing grey list from June this year. Staring at this fait accompli, Islamabad had no other option but to amend the rules to the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997, which was beset with ad-hoc provisions.

FATF pressure has genuinely alarmed the Pakistani establishment. It was only in 2015 that Pakistan was removed from the FATF watchlist only to return to it as it failed to mend ways. Nevertheless, this time the Pakistan Army has lent its support to the Bill. Islamabad's sincerity will be reflected in the will of parliamentarians to pass the Bill, which is to be tabled this week and also the manner in which the law is enforced. While FATF does not have the authority to impose sanctions on a country found non-compliant with the required standards, putting Pakistan on watchlist again will at the very least bring it under greater scrutiny at the international level and could cripple its already struggling economy. For any substantial move against Islamist terror emanating from Pakistani soil, however, the ideological poison inherent in its state instrumentalities will first have to be drained. We can't see that happening anytime soon.

Courtesy: Pioneer: Wednesday, 11 April 2018 | Pioneer | in Edit