Pakistan has ordered full compliance with United Nations Security Council (UNSC) resolutions that imposed sanctions against the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Network.
Pakistan has long been accused of sheltering and supporting militant groups in the region, a charge which it has denied.
The “statutory notification” (SRO) published by the Pakistani Foreign Ministry, ordered enforcement of assets freeze, travel ban and arms embargo on Aug. 18.
The UNSC sanctions targeted Taliban’s Qatar-based political chief Mullah Abdul Ghani Baradar who negotiated the Doha Agreement with the U.S., and the group’s second-in-command, Sirajuddin Haqqani, who also leads the Haqqani Network.
Section 10 of the SRO explains the purpose of issuance: “the federal government is pleased to order that the (UNSC) Resolution 2255 (2015) be fully implemented” with respect to Taliban leaders and affiliated entities.
Pakistani officials had previously said they were in full compliance with the UNSC’s mandatory sanctions against the Taliban and other groups associated with the militants.
“The SRO issued by Pakistan on 18 August 2020 only consolidates and documents the previously announced SROs as a procedural measure and does not reflect any change in the Sanctions List or sanction measures,” said Pakistan’s Foreign Ministry spokesperson Zahid Chaudhri.
The SRO was issued ahead of the upcoming review of the progress Pakistan has made in a meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), the agency fighting money laundering and terror financing.
Pakistan’s progress in fighting the illicit financing will be reviewed at the meeting.
The country has passed a number of laws recently in hopes of being removed from the watchdog’s increased monitoring ‘grey list’ of countries who financial systems are considered vulnerable to exploitation because of their deficiencies.
A similar SRO was also issued for Islamic State and Al Qaeda members.
