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 FATF: Will the new legislation be used to target political oppon

 

 , Photo source AFP

 Opposition parties say the legislation is not just to meet the needs of the FATF, following legislation in a joint sitting of the Pakistani parliament in response to demands from the International Financial Action Task Force.  It has even been used to target anti-government elements.

 Speaking to the BBC about this, Senator Raza Rabbani, former chairman of the upper house of parliament and leader of the Pakistan People's Party, said that in fact the money laundering bill has been passed under the guise of FATF's demands.  Will make the life of the 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.

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 Responding to a question, the former Senate chairman said that the issue of legislation under the guise of FATF would also be raised at the opposition's all-party conference nex

Raza Rabbani: Money laundering bill has been passed under the guise of FATF demands

 They were 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 the government was aware of the date on which it would convene a joint sitting of parliament, but the opposition was summoned a few hours before the session.

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 not present at the meeting on Wednesday.

 The Balochistan National Party (BNP) group did not support the government but the opposition on the FATF issue.  The BNP has opposed the government for the first time in a joint sitting of parliament since splitting from the government.

 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 needs of the FATF, 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 was accused by the prime minister that the opposition  The parties want to blackmail the government on the issue of FATF.

 

 , Image source FATF

 , Photo caption

 FATF

 All the amendments proposed by the opposition parties for legislation in view of 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.

 He said that the haste with which this legislation is being enacted could have its disadvantages which would not be in the national interest.

 Journalist and analyst Hamid Mir says that although the laws have been amended to meet the demands of the FATF, they will now be used against extremists as well as political parties and media owners.

 He said that just as former Prime Minister Mian Nawaz Sharif had enacted the Anti-Terrorism Act in 1997 with the aim of tightening the law against extremists, today many party leaders and activists have fallen victim to the same act.  Are

 

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 Hamid Mir: The legislation in the joint sitting was managed in the same way as the senators were managed in the no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

 Hamid Mir said that if the chairman of the NAB was included in the committee set up to monitor the implementation of the FATF law, it would not have been to the liking of the opposition parties.

 He said that this legislation has been enacted under international pressure but all state resources have been used for this purpose.  He said the government had a lead of only ten votes in the legislation in the joint sitting of parliament.

 Hamid Mir said that in this legislation, some MPs were 'managed' in the same way as senators were 'managed' during the no-confidence motion against Senate Chairman Sadiq Sanjrani.

 He said that the weaknesses of the opposition parties were the strength of Prime Minister Imran Khan and the day the opposition parties came together in earnest, then the PTI government could face difficulties.

 Hamid Mir said that after the all-party conference of the opposition parties on September 20, if Mian Shahbaz Sharif, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Maulana Fazlur Rehman hold four or five public rallies together, then there is a possibility that the opposition  The parties are serious about giving the government a tough time.