Hafiz Saeed’s indictment by the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) on terror financing charges has attracted great attention on national and international level. Security analysts consider this decision supportive to plead Pakistan’s case successfully at the platform of FATF (Financial Action Task Force).

Pakistan has submitted its last review report to the FATF during the first week of this month and a decision based on the fulfillment of tasks given by the international watch-dog will come in February 2020. The global watchdog put Pakistan on its “grey list” in June 2018, for its alleged failure to adequately crackdown on terror financing and money laundering in the country and gave Islamabad an October 2019 deadline to take action against home-grown militant groups and cut off their funding. Being blacklisted by the 37-nation bloc could have serious implications for Pakistan’s already fragile economy, as possible sanctions would not allow the country from seeking the financial loans it needs on a regular basis.

“Pakistan has been asked in every meeting of the FATF to take action against Hafiz Saeed and his organisation. Therefore, the court’s decision will not only assist Pakistan in presenting its case in a better way but it would also encourage supportive states like China, Turkey and Malaysia to extend their diplomatic favour in the upcoming but very crucial meeting for us in February 2020,” says Muhammad Amir Rana, the director of Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS).

But the recommendations of the FATF go beyond just taking action against banned outfits in the country. The most important recommendations of the 27 that will help Pakistan make its way out of the ‘grey list’ include, “Demonstrating that TF (transfer of funds) risks are properly identified, assessed, and that supervision is applied on risk-sensitive basis; remedial actions and sanctions are applied in cases of anti-money laundering (AML) violations; competent authorities are cooperating and taking action to identify and act against illegal money or value transfer services; improving inter-agency coordination including between provincial and federal authorities on combating TF risks; demonstrating that law enforcement agencies (LEAs) are identifying, investigating and prosecuting target/designated persons and entities; demonstrating that TF prosecutions result in effective, proportionate and dissuasive sanctions, enhancing the capacity and support for prosecutors and the judiciary; demonstrating effective implementation of targeted financial sanctions against all…designated terrorists including preventing the raising and moving of funds, identifying and freezing assets (movable and immovable).”

A senior officer of the NACTA (National Counter Terrorism Authority) tells The News on Sunday on the condition of anonymity that “Although, the development in the case of Hafiz Saeed or that of other banned outfits is not the sole criterion of everything, it gives a strong impression of our seriousness to squeeze every possible space for terror financing.”

The officer adds, “In fact, the FATF wants us to address terror financing matters comprehensively. The report submitted in the first week of December to the FATF carries a lot of our accomplishments to present in the next session. But, we are not expecting miracle which can sway the global watch-dog. Nevertheless, the progress that we have made in fulfilling the given recommendations gives us confidence that we will not be blacklisted.”

Saeed’s lawyers Imran Fazl Gill and Naseeruddin Nayar have said that their client the pleaded not guilty and decided to contest the case. Both of them have argued before the court that the prosecution has been unable to present sufficient evidence to establish the allegations.

Journalist Mubasher Bukhari points out that while both Saeed and Zafar Iqbal have been charged in one of the cases registered against them but the copy of charges has not been shared with the media yet; which is why no one has a good idea of charges.

“The case is based on official as well as private evidence. It appears impossible to produce any private evidence against Hafiz Saeed. The official evidence alone may not be sufficient to fulfill the legal parameters to convict him in this case,” Bukhari says.

“Technically, the prosecution team does not hold well-founded evidence to get Saeed and Iqbal convicted,” he notes.