ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Economy Watch (PEW) on Tuesday said the decision by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) to put Pakistan on the grey list is a move taken on the behest of US aimed at pressurizing Pakistan and to force Pakistan into submission.
PEW President Dr Murtaza Mughal in a statement said that the decision has little to do with terror financing while everything to do with Pakistan’s Afghan policy, which is being seen as unfavourable in Washington.
He said that the US wants to force Pakistan into submission by shattering its economy through such tactics. Dr Murtaza Mughal added that we should counter US conspiracies, since changing important regional policies to please Washington will be a political and economic suicide.
He said that the aims of FATF are political otherwise Afghanistan, India, Sudan and Nigeria would be been included in the list while countries known for hiding dirty money including the UK would not have been spared.
The US is notorious for hiding dirty money, therefore, many Pakistani and other politicians and bureaucrats hide property worth billions there, the PEW President stated.
The FATF is a tool to hit Pakistan’s economy, CPEC, banking sector, exports and investors’ confidence as it will increase the cost of doing business, he observed.
Dr Murtaza Mughal said that the move can hurt the stock market and have an impact on the creditworthiness of the country making borrowing difficult.
Pakistan was included in the grey list in 2012 and it took Pakistan three years to come out of it, however, this time the US was so eager that all the Pakistan-friendly nations decided to vote against Pakistan.
He said allowing terrorist outfits to operate by changing names and participate in the elections has added to the negative impression.
