- Big difference between US promises and delivery
US Assistant Secretary of State for South Asia Alice Wells is in Pakistan on a four-day visit to discuss bilateral ties. So far, much of the focus has been on the FATF that has greylisted Pakistan, pending a review next month to re-assess how satisfactorily we have improved our counter-terror financing and anti-moneylaundering measures. The greylisting and the increasing likelihood of being placed on the dreaded black list in the upcoming review has forced Pakistan to take some aggressive actions recently. This includes the central bank heavily fining commercial banks for non-compliance of necessary KYC (know your customer); government saving schemes are being reviewed to identify unauthentic investors looking to park their ill-gotten money; and prosecution of leaders of proscribed organizations like Hafiz Saeed of the JuD . According to the Foreign Office, Ms Wells is quite pleased with this progress but US support alone might not cut it as there are 36 other voting members of the FATF, all of whom cannot be wooed by the USA on Pakistan’s behalf. Although Ms Wells emphasized that Pakistan’s case would be ‘decided on merit’, geo-politics will still play a central role in influencing how the FATF votes, therefore it will require some smart, nuanced and effective diplomacy along with a better progress report to make our case.
Ms. Wells also met with high ranking members of the cabinet to discuss pending issues. This included a meeting with Interior Minister Brig (retd) Ijaz Shah who claimed that the issue of illegal stay of Pakistani expatriates in the USA had been ‘resolved satisfactorily’. She also met with PM’ Commerce Advisor Razzak Dawood to discuss trade between the two countries, and according to Mr Dawood, showed interest in more US companies entering the Pakistani market while ‘immediate progress’ in the agriculture sector could be made. Prime Minister Imran Khan in July of last year, during his maiden visit to the USA, had received a verbal assurance from President Donald Trump that the US-Pak trade would increase noticeably. Six months on, there has been neither a significant uptick in trade nor any long-term sustainable US investment in the country. Ms. Wells’ comments on trade, therefore, have to be taken with a pinch of salt. The US’ travel advisory to its nationals for Pakistan remains intact. It would be foolish to expect any large sums of investment dollars making their way to Pakistan in such conditions.
