Five years after a United Nations resolution sanctioned the Afghani terror group and recommended member states to freeze their assets, Pakistan on Friday announced financial sanctions against the Taliban and key individuals including the head of Haqqani network, associated with the group.
The sanctions are part of Pakistan’s efforts to avoid being blacklisted by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body that provides a framework against money laundering, terrorist financing, and other threats to the global financial system.
Pakistan is currently on the grey list and has been warned that lack of compliance with the international regulations on terror financing will result in the country being downgraded to the black list. Only Iran and North Korea are currently blacklisted. Blacklisting by FATF isolates a country financially by severely impacting its borrowing credentials.
Islamabad’s sanctions also identified dozens of individuals, including the Taliban’s chief peace negotiator Abdul Ghani Baradar and several members of the Haqqani family, including Sirajuddin, the current head of the Haqqani network and the deputy head of the Taliban.
The sanctions also target al-Qaida, the Islamic State affiliate and local terror groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out deadly attacks in Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}The sanctions also target al-Qaida, the Islamic State affiliate and local terror groups like Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP), which has carried out deadly attacks in Pakistan.
{{/usCountry}}It has been reported that several leaders of the Taliban own businesses and properties in Pakistan. Islamabad’s association with the proscribed group goes back to the 1980s when they were fighting the Soviet invasion in Afghanistan with the backing of Pakistan and the US.
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Meanwhile, the Pakistan foreign office said that it is the UNSC Taliban sanctions Committee that deals with sanctions on Taliban and related entities and individuals. Upon any change by the Committee, all states including Pakistan, implement these sanctions which include assets freeze, arms embargo and travel ban.
The Taliban Sanctions Committee has not announced any changes in its sanctions list recently.
The order, issued by Pakistan on Aug 18, 2020 only consolidates and documents the previously announced orders as a procedural measure and does not reflect any change in the sanctions list or sanction measures.