Provincial Training of Prosecutors on Countering Terrorism Financing (CTF) Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP)

Peshawar, Abbottabad, Swat

March 2019, Islamabad: The capacity building of prosecutors is deemed an essential component in the just conclusion of cases relating to countering terrorism financing (CTF). UNODC and the National Counter Terrorism Authority (NACTA) collaborated in organizing a series of trainings for the Prosecution Department of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province, to sharpen its CTF skills, in the cities of Peshawar, Swat, and Abbottabad. These sessions were held on 14-15 and 27-28 February, and 12 _13 March, 2019.

The trainings were designed, delivered, and moderated by Mr Faisal Khan, advocate and UNODC  Consultant, with the objectives of enhancing the capability of the prosecutors in prosecuting offences relating to terrorism financing; and of deliberating on the ways in which this could raise the confidence of the public and the international community in the effectiveness of Pakistan's law enforcement agencies (LEAs) in dealing with these crimes. 

These two-day trainings were designed with the aim of ensuring practicality, and relevance to the cultural and social context of Pakistan. The first part of the course was structured to familiarize participants with the origins of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), and its efforts in creating global awareness on terrorism financing, along with a brief description of the concept and history of the subject. The role of FATF was highlighted: particularly its assistance to countries in strengthening their legal regimes to effectively respond to the threat of terrorism financing (TF).

Emphasis was placed on the various legislative measures adopted by Pakistan to synchronize its legal framework with the recommendations of the FATF. In addition the penal provisions under the Anti-Terrorism Laws and Anti Money Laundering Act were discussed.

The following session focussed on the preventive regime for terrorism financing in Pakistan. The role of and initiatives taken by the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) were highlighted: viz. issuing and enforcing regulations to ensure that banks and other financial institutions play a constructive role in preventing the provision of funds for terrorism, by taking actions such as reporting suspicious transactions. The session concluded with case study evaluation, to assess the knowledge gained by the trainees.

The second day's itinerary included a briefing session on the new rules and regulations, particularly those issued by the Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan (SECP), to regularize the registration, reporting, and functioning of Non-Profit Organizations. In the last session, the role of the Financial Monitoring Unit (FMU) under the Anti Money Laundering Act 2010 was presented: with a focus on the reporting requirements of banks and other entities to the FMU.

The sessions remained open for the sharing of individual experiences of participants in the context of terrorism financing, to enable this exchange of knowledge leading to lessons learned, towards drafting best practices for the future.

All presentations and activities concluded with Question & Answer sessions to address queries and concerns. The CTF sessions achieved the training of 75 officials from the KP Prosecution Department, who were duly awarded Certificates on course completion. All trainings were made possible by the support of the European Union (EU).