The failure of talks between Pakistan and the International Monetray Fund (IMF) on Sunday came as yet another setback for the country's beleagured Prime Minister Imran Khan who is already at the loggerheads with the all powerful army.
The Pakistan government had agreed to formally mention the money laundering documents according to 2019 Pak-IMF deal, which linked IMF tranches directly to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Pakistan was given the three month time in June this year to fulfil the remaining conditions by October. The FATF plenary will be held in Paris from October 19-21.
Also read| Pakistan expected to remain on FATF grey list till April 2022
According to the latest US Congressional report on terrorism titled "Terrorist and Other Militant Groups in Pakistan", Pakistan is the base of more than 12 terrorist organisations who are designated as the "foreign terrorist organizations" by the US. Five of these terror outfits are India-centric.
Pakistan has become a classic hybrid state with the military and militants influencing the state and its actions, the report added.
The former US National Security Advisor H R McMaster told a US congressional hearing that the US should hold Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan accountable for some of his comments after the fall of Kabul in August and that Pakistan should be confronted broadly with international isolation because of its "support for jihadist terrorists".
"Given that Washington has always seen Pakistan as the key sponsor of the Taliban, its insistence on asking Pakistan to control the Haqqanis has created a lot of complications for Islamabad," says one Pakistani journalist adding sanctions are looming large on Pakistan.
Citing the report, Fabien Baussart, the founder and President of the think-tank Centre of Political and Foreign Affairs wrote on Times of Israel, that FATF must also put on record evidence collated by various countries of Pakistan's role in helping a militant group, the Taliban, from overthrowing an elected government in Afghanistan. Pakistan's association with global terrorist outfits such as the Haqqani Network, known for hosting groups like Al Qaeda, needs to be brought on record.
"FATF will fail in its duty if it delays blacklisting Pakistan for its terrorist sponsorship," warns Baussart.
In the last meeting held in June, the FATF decided to continue keeping Pakistan on its grey list and asked it to prosecute and target senior leaders of UN-designated terrorist groups.
Also read| Pak, militants out to label every Kashmiri as terrorist; 4 non-locals shot in 24 hours
