Parliament approves two FATF-related bills

By News Desk

ISLAMABAD: The National Assembly on Thursday passed two vital bills related to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to fulfil international obligations against terror financing after incorporating amendments proposed by the Senate ahead of the FATF’s plenary in October.

The Anti Terrorism (Amendment) Bill 2020 and United Nations (Security Council) Bill 2020 were moved in the Lower House by Adviser to the Prime Minister on Parliamentary Affairs Dr Babar Awan after they were passed by the Senate.

A day earlier, the bills were passed by the National Assembly with a majority vote and sent to the Senate for approval. That same day, the Senate referred the bills to the committee concerned for deliberation.

The committee met on Thursday before the Senate session and proposed amendments to the bill. According to committee Chairman Senator Javed Abbasi, Minister for Law and Justice Farogh Naseem also supported the amendments proposed by the opposition.

As per the Constitution, a bill passed by the National Assembly is sent to the Senate for approval, and if the Senate proposes amendments in it, the bill goes back to the National Assembly for approval.

Earlier in the day, Awan moved the bills in the Upper House after a presentation of the Standing Committee on Law and Justice’s report on the legislative proposals.

The Anti-terrorism (Amendment) Bill, 2020 (Amendment in sections 2, 110 and insertion of Section 11OO of the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997) aims to fulfil the obligation of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to exclude Pakistan’s name from the grey list.

It defines ‘Person’ in section 2 as an additional clauses named (pa) which provides detailed definition of individuals. As per the Federal Legislative List provided in the Fourth Schedule of the Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan 1973, the Federal Government for compliance of international treaties, conventions and agreements and international arbitration can make legislations and rules to enforce such decisions.

The bill provides that any refusal or non-compliance on the orders of the federal government under Section 2 of the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1948 is a punishable offence under Section 1100 — Violation of the UN Security Council Resolutions of this act.

The second bill — the United Nations (Security Council) (Amendment) Bill, 2020 — was passed after presentation of the report of Standing Committee on Law and Justice. The bill aims at ensuring effective implementation of the resolutions of the UN Security Council.

According to statements of objects and reasons of the bill, the implementation of the obligations of the resolutions adopted by the UNSC under Chapter VII of the United Nations Charter are fulfilled through the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1948 (XIV of 1948).

Under the said Act, the federal government passes orders, directing authorities in Pakistan to implement various measures in the Security Council resolutions, including the freezing and seizure of assets, travel ban and arms embargo.

The Act does not contain an indemnity clause to provide protection to the persons implementing in good faith, the orders passed under the Act.

Furthermore, there is a requirement to give powers to the federal government to make rules for carrying out the purposes of the bill.

In addition, the power to issue orders under the bill needs to be delegated by the federal government to ensure that the orders are issued in a timely manner, within a matter of a few hours, as required by the Security Council.

Finally the provision for punishment of persons offending against the order issued under the Act is redundant as neither the punishment nor the mechanism for its enforcement is provided under the Act.

The issue is being taken up separately through corresponding amendment in the Anti-Terrorism Act, 1997. The bill, therefore, seeks to amend the United Nations (Security Council) Act, 1948 (XIV of 1948) in order to ensure the effective implementation of the resolutions of the United Nations Security Council.

Speaking in the Senate, foreign minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi said: “Pakistan has completed all the phases of the process and now there is no reason to keep it in the grey list.”

He said Parliament had amended the Anti-Terrorism Act and the United Nations Security Council Act and now the Asia Pacific Group would analyse the report to be sent by Pakistan. The report would then be considered in the plenary of FATF in October, which would decide to put Pakistan in the white list or vice versa.

The minister thanked the opposition parties, including Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, Pakistan Peoples Party and Jamaat-e-Islami for supporting the government in the passage the bills.

If Pakistan were included in the white list, it credit would go to both the opposition and treasury benches, he asserted.

He said the Senate foiled the designs of India, which wanted to push Pakistan to the “black list” to create economic difficulties for it. The effort of government was to bring Pakistan in the “white list”, he added.

The political parties, he said, proved that they could “rise above personal and partisan interests” for the sake of country. The legislation would help Pakistan. “Governments come and go but the interest of the state remains supreme,” Qureshi said.