Omer Sheikh release sealed Pak's FATF grey-list status

Aasha Khosa

The order of the Sindh Court Court and later the Supreme Court of Pakistan for release of Omer Saeed Sheikh, a British-born who was serving death for masterminding the murder of American journalist Daniel Pearl in 2002, could not have come at a worse time for Islamabad.

Within weeks, Islamabad’s efforts to change its laws with the purpose of denying freedom to terror groups to use its system for financing their activities and those trying to convert their ill-gotten wealth by taking money outside, and also demonstrating the political will to implement the same, was to come under scrutiny at the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

The Daniel Pearl case is seen as a travesty of justice and has exposed Pakistan's inherent weaknesses to deal with terrorism as such.

For this and other reasons, Pakistan would not get out of the grey-list in the plenary of the FATF that's starting on February 22.

The USA is hugely upset with Omer’s release as the first official interaction between two countries after Joe Biden became the President was related to the case. Secretary of State Antony Blinken called up Pakistan’s foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi and asked him to ensure Omer is not released.

What should have been an ice-breaking call turned to be a talk about a thorny issue. Though Qureshi promised to not let Omer Sheikh be free, the Supreme Court rejected the review petition and upheld the High court order in the case.

Earlier, a British government report had said illegal money from Pakistan continues to flow into UK’sproperty market for laundering the ill-gotten wealth.

The report, ‘National Risk Assessment of money laundering and terrorist financing 2020,’ says that Pakistan’s “corrupt foreign elites continue to be attracted to the UK property market, especially in London, to disguise their corruption proceeds.”

The report is released by the UK’s Treasury and Home Office. It says Pakistan's corrupt people route their illegal funds to buy properties in the UK and take back the money they make on there through illegal means.

Though the report has also named China, Hong Kong, Russia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), its revelations have the most serious repercussions for Pakistan as the FATF reviews its status as a country on “enhanced (expedited) follow up regime.” Under this status, Pakistan had to report about its progress in strengthening implementation of Anti-money laundering and countering terror financing measures to the Asia Pacific Group (AGP), the regional affiliate  of the FATF on monthlybasis.

In its last review of Pakistan’s status as a grey-listed country, the FATF had found it compliant in just two of the 40 parameters. 

Sources in Pakistan said Qureshi has been briefing the media about a positive outcome of the FATF meeting. In the last plenary in October, the FATF had categorically told Pakistan it cannot wait forever for the country to implement the 40 point action plan to curb terror financing and money laundering.

Pakistan has all the reasons to be included in the blacklist along with Iran and North Korea. However, it may not happen because of the support it gets from Turkey and China in the FATF.