What is FATF? Basically US/Europe who are our biggest trading partners, especially exports/remittances. Dont want to trade with them and rather host bunch terrorists who are good for nothing? Fine. I doubt they care about losing 0.1% their trade but hopefully establishment do care about losing our biggest export markets.
FATF doesn't regulate trade the WTO does.
Why you see the kind of sanctions you do on countries like North Korea and Iran is because they're not members of the WTO so they can't take anything to arbitration if restrictions are imposed.
That's why, despite an ongoing genocide, neither the US or EU have imposed anything but targeted sanctions on the civilian and military leadership of Myanmar because it is a WTO state and imposing anything more would likely violate WTO rules.
For the US/EU to impose any kind of restrictions on us it would likely only be able to do so under Article XXI of the GATT but how would they justify it under the security exemptions considering we have no UNSC sanctions imposed on us and likely never will thanks to ally China having veto status.
My personal view is that Pakistan would have always remained on the grey list irregardless of what we chose to do.
The ONLY reason I can think that this is being done because Khan and the PTI government wants to borrow more money from the WB and IMF and no nation is given the right to access foreign financial AID under the WTO nor are any WTO members obligated to offer financial AID.
You are totally free to have any sort of financial rules in your country. The rest of the world has total freedom to make their remittances to you difficult or easy.
No, WTO arbitration would likely quash any attempts to do so.
I believe this is regulated through GATS (General Agreement on Trade in Services) but do you know where it states member states can impose the blocks you're referring to?
Do you know where all of Pakistan's major rivers originate and flow through?
In terms of water I recall reading that something like 75% of our water originates from rainfall and glacial melt occurring inside our borders and the other 25% is originates from Afghanistan and China's Tibetan Plateaus that pass through occupied Kashmir.
So what of it?
It's heart wrenching witnessing a nuclear power of 200 million + turned into a poodle to maintain lifestyle of some.
it will be used to force submission in all forms
It's very unfortunate but we have to deal with the situation at hand.
We need to understand why our economy has been left in the shape it is in and the neo-liberal economic policies of the previous Musharraf dictatorship and civilian governments of Nawaz Sharif and Zardari/Bhutto are to blame.
They should face serious repercussions for their crimes and we need to push the Khan/PTI government to end this BS social welfare nonsense and focus on tax collection and investment in local industry particularly with the goal of substituting imports we buy enough of to produce locally on a competitive market of scale (ex. p-xylene, oil/gas with local thar lignite, etc...).
Oh yes lets boycott trade with USA and Europe. Why don't you go back to Pakistan to start?
This is an interesting point you've brought up.
I've mentioned this before but Pakistan doesn't need international trade to achieve substantial growth. Investment in our local agricultural sector, mining and infrastructure is more than enough to achieve above 12% yoy GDP growth for the next decade.
Even things like oil and gas can be substituted with local shale and thar lignite (both the Germans during WWII and South Africa under apartheid did so successfully).
However, Pakistan won't achieve that independence without tax revenue generation and investment in local industries.
Pakistan's current predicament is solely related to horrible economic policies of previous military dictatorships and civilian governments particularly since the 90s. The horrendous neo-liberal economic policies of Nawaz Sharif later expanded on by Musharraf while Zardari refused to reverse course as is the case with Khan and the PTI is why Pakistan isn't going anywhere.
