ISLAMABAD (April 18 2009): Pakistan has reportedly agreed to accede to a United Nations Convention that prohibits the countries not to finance those groups or charitable organisations, which are engaged in illicit activities, well-informed sources in Ministry of Foreign Affairs told Business Recorder on Friday.
The International Convention for Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism, adopted by the UN General Assembly in 1997, requires parties to take steps to prevent and counter the financing of terrorism. The sources said: "The Convention further provides for the identification, freezing and seizure of funds allocated for terrorist activities as well as for sharing of the forfeited funds with other states on case to case basis."
They said that Pakistan was often a target of criticism for its non-accession to the Convention as this was considered to be a major international legal instrument to check and punish terrorists, financed by individuals and organisations.
The sources further said:"All international partners, including the Security Council's Counter Terrorism Committee (CTC), Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and the Asia Pacific Group (APG), have been urging Pakistan to accede to this Convention. Additionally, the countries such as the United States, United Kingdom and other European Union (EU) states have called for Pakistan's accession to this Convention."
According to sources, the Convention requires parties to take steps to prevent and counteract the financing of terrorism whether direct or indirect through groups, claiming to have charitable, social, or cultural goals, which are engaged in illicit activities. It also commits states to hold those, who finance terrorism, criminally or administratively liable for such acts.
Giving details, the sources said, an inter-ministerial committee, comprising the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Interior, Law, Justice, Human Rights and Finance, was set up to consider Pakistan's preparedness to accede to this Convention, which gave its concurrence that Pakistan might accede to the Convention while making the following reservations.
ARTICLE 11: Pakistani government declares that pursuant to Article 11 paragraph 2, of the Convention, it does not take this Convention as the legal basis for co-operation on extradition with other states parties.
ARTICLE 14: Extradition to other countries will be subject to the domestic laws of Pakistan.
ARTICLE 24: Pakistan does not consider itself bound by Article 24, paragraph 1 of the International Convention for the Suppression of the Financing of Terrorism. Pakistani government hereby declares that, for a dispute to be referred to the International Court of Justice, the agreement of all parties shall in every case be required.
