The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global watchdog to combat money laundering and terrorist financing, is expected to announce today (Friday) whether Pakistan will be removed or retained from its enhanced watch list, which is called ” Also known as the “Grey List”. But the government hopes that the result will be in favor of the country.
If the global watchdog has determined that Pakistan has met all items on its action plan, it will conduct a site visit to confirm the country’s compliance before eventually removing it from the enhanced watch list.
The FATF was scheduled to hold a press conference at 7:30 pm today after the conclusion of the four-day plenary session that began in Berlin, Germany on Tuesday. However, the press conference has been delayed and the watchdog is yet to issue an official statement on the delay.
Delegates representing 206 FATF members and observers – including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the United Nations, the World Bank and the Egmont Group of Financial Intelligence Units – attended the plenary session.
Reading: There and again – a timeline of Pakistan’s unfortunate ‘grey listing’ by FATF
diplomatic sources first Told dawn That China and some other allies are working quietly to get Pakistan out of the gray list during the latest plenary session.
Recent reports in the international media have also referred to this “quiet lobbying” led by China, and an Indian media outlet reported that the plenary session is “likely to decide to take Pakistan out of the list of countries that , commonly known as the Gray List”.
Several politicians, mostly from PTI, and journalists posted on social media today that the FATF has removed Pakistan from the gray list. However, Minister of State for External Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is Pakistan delegation led In Berlin, cautioned that results and speculative reporting should be avoided.
He pointed out that the plenary meeting was still underway and the FATF would issue a statement tonight following their conclusion.
He said that a press conference in this regard will be held in the Ministry of External Affairs on Saturday (tomorrow).
Information Minister Maryam Aurangzeb also called for an end to speculations about the results of the plenary session, terming it unwarranted.
Four years on the gray list
Pakistan is on the gray list since June 2018.
sources told dawn That the April 9 verdict of the Anti-Terrorism Court in Lahore can also help Pakistan remove this stigma. Court was sent Lashkar-e-Taiba chief Hafiz Saeed jailed for 33 years on terrorism charges.
Those who support the move to remove Pakistan from the list point out that the two cases in which he was imprisoned were filed by Pakistan’s counter-terrorism department.
In its last plenary session held in Paris in March this year, the FATF noted that “Pakistan has completed 26 of the 27 work items in its 2018 Action Plan”. The FATF encouraged Pakistan to “address, as soon as possible, one remaining item – investigating the financing of terrorism and targeting senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups”.
The FATF acknowledged at the time that Pakistan had also completed six of the seven action plan items – part of a separate list – it was asked to comply with in June 2021 to combat money laundering. In June 2021, when most observers expected Pakistan to be removed from the watch list after completing 26 of the 27 items on the original action plan, the watchdog, in a surprise move, announced that Pakistan should show compliance. Will happen. parallel seven-point plan To reach safe shores.
For the latest plenary session, the Ministry of External Affairs had prepared a presentation for the FATF plenary session, showing how Pakistan had completed all 27 tasks that were assigned to it.
How is a country removed from the list?
According to FATF WebsiteRemoval of a country from a watch list requires completing all or almost all of the components of its action plan. Once a global watchdog has determined that a country has met the components, it will “verify that the necessary legal, regulatory, and/or operational reforms are under implementation and that the necessary political Commitment, will schedule a tour on site.” and institutional capacity to maintain implementation”.
If the visit yields a positive result, the FATF will decide to remove the country from public recognition at the next plenary session.
The country will continue to work on improving its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing regimes through the normal follow-up process of the FATF.
PTI’s ‘success’
Amid speculation about Pakistan’s possible exit from the list, cabinet members of the former PTI government claimed credit for the alleged development.
Former finance minister Shaukat Tarin said the “removal” was another feather in the cap of Hammad Azhar, a former energy minister and also the government’s top coordinator for anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing efforts.
Former Human Rights Minister Shireen Mazari tweeted, “Another success for PTI Govt. #FATF #ThankYouImranKhan.”
Senator Ejaz Chaudhry said he expected Pakistan to be out of the gray list today, terming it as a result of the work of the Imran Khan-led government.
Chowdhary feared that the present government would take credit for it.
The party’s official Twitter account also said, “If we come across the #FATF whitelist today, the imported government will probably try to take credit. But everyone should know that since the regime change, any law related to FATF Hasn’t passed, so if it’s a success at FATF, it’ll be another #ThankYouImranKhan event!”