ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is currently in an astonishing race to take credit for the positive response it has received from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). Meeting in Berlin on FridayBrightens the prospect of Islamabad being removed from the ‘Grey List’ of the global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog.
The scramble to take credit for the development was poignantly summed up by PPP stalwart Farhatullah Babar, who said that the credit some of them were taking could in fact be responsible for Pakistan getting into the gray list, without further elaboration. ,
As soon as the FATF announced that Pakistan had fulfilled all its 34 conditions, Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) President and former Prime Minister Imran Khan in a series of tweets credited his government With taking the country towards this achievement.
Again, presiding over a meeting of party spokespersons at his Banigala residence on Saturday, Mr Khan congratulated Hammad Azhar – who was the energy minister in the PTI cabinet and the previous government’s key points to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts. Were – as well as members and officials of the FATF Coordination Committee “working hard to achieve the milestone of removing Pakistan from the FATF Gray List”.
On the other hand, Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif also felicitated the nation and government institutions, personalities and related teams on development and especially appreciated the performance of “Minister of State for External Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar and the team members of the Ministry of External Affairs. Who represented the country in the meeting.
Mr Sharif said that the efforts of the Basic Cell related to FATF and the military and civilian leadership involved in it are commendable and the credit for their work in this national effort goes to him.
PM Sharif said that the statement of FATF is a recognition of the restoration of Pakistan’s international prestige.
Meanwhile, leaders of the Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) also came out with a series of statements praising their party’s president and Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari for his “successful diplomacy” during his recent foreign visits and Thus paved the way for the removal of the country from the country. Paris-based FATF’s ‘Grey List’
According to the PPP’s media office, PM Sharif spoke to Mr Bhutto-Zardari over the telephone on Saturday and “congratulated” him on the achievement. According to Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb, the prime minister also made a telephone call to the army chief and “appreciated his decision to set up a core cell at GHQ”.
Amid the wrangling of political parties over the issue, a military spokesperson termed the development “a great achievement” and credited the “civil-military team” and the core cell set up mainly at the Army’s General Headquarters (GHQ) in Rawalpindi. . This.
The Prime Minister, during his telephonic conversation with General Bajwa, praised the civil and military members in the Corps Cell and the military leadership for their efforts in this regard, saying that the nation feels proud of each and every member of the Cell.
Mr Sharif made separate calls to Ms Khar and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail and paid tributes to them on the development.
Interestingly, while political rivals were unwilling to acknowledge each other’s efforts, they were unanimous in praising the military’s role in development.
PTI Vice President Dr Shireen Mazari on Saturday slammed the coalition government for trying to take credit for the FATF’s positive decision, recalling that while in opposition these parties had resorted to “blackmailing tactics” and asked the FATF opposed the relevant laws. ,
“The imported government may try to take undue credit for the historic achievements, but Pakistan knew them well, as they opposed the FATF bills in Parliament in 2020,” Ms Mazari said in her statement.
“Let’s be clear, FATF removal [is] Based on solid legal actions not on diplomatic skills, therefore, all credit goes to PTI and its team,” he said of the PPP’s separate efforts to portray FM Bhutto-Zardari as the main hero behind the achievement. Added in a clear reference.
Published in Dawn, June 19, 2022