FATF: The government's defense of legislation, the opposition's all-party conference will be tomorrow

 

The Pakistani government says the parliament's recent unanimous approval of bills on the International Financial Action Task Force (IFATF) is crucial to removing the country from the task force's gray list, but officials have accused it. Opposition parties are trying to confuse the people. An all-party conference of opposition parties will be held in Islamabad tomorrow in which the issue of legislation regarding FATF will also be discussed. Following the legislation in the joint sitting of the Pakistani parliament, opposition parties have stated that the legislation is not only to meet the needs of the FATF but also to target anti-government elements. On Saturday, Federal Minister for Information Shibli Faraz, accompanied by Home Adviser Shehzad Akbar, in a press conference, while referring to the recent unanimous approval of bills by the Parliament on the Financial Action Task Force, said that financial There was a need for clauses in the affairs to prevent financial corruption and money laundering. "Pakistan was in danger of being blacklisted from the gray list and we had two options: get out of it or go to the blacklist and we had to see which of them is better," he said. The opposition was trying to see what was important to their leaders.

"We do not have a majority in the Senate and the government has tried to take the opposition along," he said. It has accelerated in recent months this year, with the opposition proposing 34 amendments. But due to public pressure, their demand fell through. Shehzad Akbar said that the needle of the opposition got stuck on the anti-money laundering bill during the talks. He alleged that the opposition leaders wanted to close their cases. "The government prepared a draft, it was shared with the opposition for negotiations and during all these negotiations, their intention became clear." Referring to the APC, Shehzad Akbar said that the opposition should demand it. The accountability process in the country should be stopped, the 19th amendment should be changed. Ruling PTI ministers and advisers to the prime minister have also accused the opposition parties of trying to confuse the people through the APC. Concerns are also being raised that Nawaz Sharif's speech may not be allowed to air on Pakistani media. Adviser to the Prime Minister on Political Affairs Shahbaz Gill, citing court rulings and legal provisions, wrote in his Twitter message that "criminals like Nawaz Sharif do not have the same rights as free citizens."  A total of 11 political parties are participating in the conference, which is being hosted by the People's Party, at a private hotel in Islamabad.

PPP leader Qamar-ul-Zaman Kaira held a press conference along with other leaders and said that under a joint strategy, all parties would come together to find a way out of the government. PPP co-chairman Asif Ali Zardari and PML-N leader Mian Nawaz Sharif will attend the conference via video link, while Bilawal Bhutto Zardari called on Maulana Fazlur Rehman and telephoned members of other major parties. Contacted on the phone. Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said in a Twitter message that Asif Ali Zardari would attend the conference via video link, while Maryam Nawaz confirmed in response to a Twitter user that steps should be taken to stream Nawaz Sharif's message live on social media. have been. This was followed by a tweet from the Twitter handle created by Nawaz Sharif today in which the message was 'Respect the vote.' Speaking to the BBC recently, the former chairman of the upper house of parliament, the Senate And PPP leader Senator Raza Rabbani had said that in fact the money laundering bill has been passed under the guise of FATF demands which will make the life of common man more difficult. He said that the government had consulted the opposition parties to some extent on some provisions of the bill but most of the amendments were not referred to the standing committees of the parliament, especially the Senate. Raza Rabbani said that this move of the government is a sign of distrust in the parliament and such steps are weakening the parliament. He was asked how the bill was passed if the opposition parties should have had a numerical advantage in the event of a joint session. Senator Rabbani said that the government was aware of the date on which it would convene a joint sitting of Parliament but the summons was issued to the opposition a few hours before the sitting.

He said that even in such a short period of time, the leadership of the opposition parties tried to ensure the attendance of their members but still some people could not come which affected the numerical lead of the opposition in the joint meeting.It may be recalled that PPP co-chairman and former President Asif Ali Zardari was also absent from the meeting on Wednesday. The Balochistan National Party (BNP) group did not support the government but the opposition on the FATF issue. For the first time since splitting from the government, the BNP has opposed the government in a joint sitting of parliament. Senator Javed Abbasi of the Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz, the largest opposition party in parliament, said that the opposition parties were ready to legislate in view of the FATF's needs, but the government did not. It has also enacted legislation under the guise of human rights violations. He said the government had sought the cooperation of opposition parties to meet the needs of the FATF, which did so in the national interest, but the prime minister had accused the opposition The parties want to blackmail the government on the issue of FATF. All the amendments proposed by the opposition parties for legislation keeping in view the requirements of the FATF were rejected.

Senator Javed Abbasi, who is also the chairman of the Senate Standing Committee on Law and Justice, said that the draft legislation on money laundering had not been sent to the Standing Committee, which made the government serious. It can be well estimated.