FATF to announce its decision on removal of Pakistan from grey list today
Pakistan is expected to finally exit the ‘increased monitoring list’ also known as the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) today as the global money-laundering watchdog meets in Paris to review Islamabad’s performance on action plan.
Pakistan is hopeful that this time Pakistan’s name will be removed from the global financing watchdog’s grey list.
Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar will represent the Pakistani delegation in the meeting.
The official announcement regarding Pakistan’s removal from grey list is expected to be made at 8 pm Pakistan Standard Time (PST) today.
In 2018, Pakistan’s name was added to FATF’s grey list and an action plan was given to implement on 27 points.
Later Pakistan was asked to implement 13 more points, FATF delegation visited Pakistan to review the implementation of these points.
Delegations from 206 organizations including Interpol, IMF and World Bank officials are participating in the meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
The meeting will also look into preventing money laundering of unlawful funds through fake companies and other methods and provide guidance in this regard.
China thwarted Indian move
On October 18, India proposed to blacklist Shahid Mehmood which was earlier in 2016 declared as a financial facilitator of banned armed group Lashkar-e-Tayyaba.
On October 19, India once again proposed to blacklist Hafiz Talha Saeed, son of Lashkar-e-Tayyaba chief Hafiz Saeed.
However, China resisted and thwarted the Indian recommendations.
Proposals to ban such groups at the FATF meeting could bolster India’s efforts to keep Pakistan on the grey list.
Munir Akram, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations, told that, “India’s move to blacklist banned organizations and defame Pakistan was aimed at diverting attention from Indian patronage of Tehreek-e-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) and Balochistan Liberation Army (BLA).”
“Apart from supporting terrorist organizations in Pakistan, India is also attacking Chinese aims to destroy China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) and China-Pakistan Economic Cooperation,” he added.
The spokesperson of the Ministry of External Affairs told reporters that, “this was not the first time that baseless, fabricated and misleading propaganda against Pakistan has been done by Indian media through official leaks before the FATF meeting.”
The statement said that FATF and the international community have recognized Pakistan’s improved measures against money laundering and terrorist financing.
The spokesman furthered that, “despite India raising doubts on Pakistan’s efforts and achievements in the meeting and politicizing the issue, FATF had agreed in its June 2022 meeting that Pakistan had met all the basic requirements of the 2018 and 2021 Action Plans.”
