PM Imran Khan plays politics with Opposition as FATF verdict hangs over Pak

The Financial Action Task Force(FATF) will meet in a few days from now to decide Pakistan's fate with the country on the "grey list".

The grey list means Pakistan doesn't qualify for many international loans and investment projects and a blacklist will sound the death knell for its economy.

However, PM Imran Khan is trying to avoid it. The Pakistan prime minister has been saved so far by friends like China so far but that insurance cover will expire at some point.

Islamabad must show proof of action against terror groups but it played a political game, instead of clamping down on terrorists, it is playing politics.

The Imran Khan government introduced two bills in parliament but the Opposition shot them down. It was the second amendment to the anti-money laundering bill and the Islamabad capital territory Waqf properties bill with both about curbing money laundering and terror financing.

However, both have been voted down by the upper house of Pakistan's Parliament. The result is that Pakistan can show no progress in curbing terror. The FATF's list of demands is clear, earlier this year Pakistan was evaluated on 27 action points and it failed on all 13 of them.

There were four broad parameters on which Pakistan didn't comply - anti-money laundering and terror financing, prosecution and penalising terror financing, transparency and secrecy in financial institutions and implementing an effective national mechanism to check illegal funding of terrorist outfits.

Pakistan failed on all four counts and it remains on the grey list downgraded by the International Monetary Fund, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank and the European Union.

Now, things will get worse, so Imran Khan is ready with his plan to evade responsibility. He has already blamed the Opposition for Pakistan's poor record. He cannot stop terrorists, but he can certainly go after the Opposition.

The Opposition parties rejected the bills because they believe Imran Khan will misuse them and he will target them, and not the terrorists of Pakistan. Pakistan has two main Opposition parties - Pakistan Muslim League(Nawaz) which is Nawaz Sharif's party and the Pakistan People's Party of the Zardaris both dynasties - both against the bills and at the receiving end of Imran Khan's anti-corruption crackdown.

Some allege that Khan’s PTI seeks to gain sweeping powers to arrest anyone suspected of money laundering could be detained without trial for up to 90 days without producing any substantiating evidence in court. The term of imprisonment, they say, could be extended for a further 90 days if authorities deem fit under the proposed legislation. 

They particularly oppose one provision in the money laundering bill which says that anyone suspected of money laundering could be detained without trial for up to 90 days and the investigators wouldn't even need to submit any major evidence in court.

The detention can be extended at will which will give the government sweeping powers and they won't let it happen even if it means a FATF blacklist for Pakistan.

Meanwhile, Imran Khan has called for a new session of Parliament next week to pass the bills. 

The Pakistan prime minister is desperate to get them through because Pakistan needs more aid and loans without an all clear from the FATF it won't get any aid.