Pakistan Likely To Exit Anti-Terror “FATF Grey List” After 4 Years

Read Time:1 Minute, 59 Second

Four times after it was placed on the” slate list” of the Financial Action Task Force( FATF) for backing of terrorism and plutocrat laundering, Pakistan is eventually set to see its name off the list after it was set up to be biddable in the action plan set out by the global fiscal watchdog.The decision to strike off the South Asian nation from the list is likely to be taken when the fiscal crime watchdog meets in Paris from October 18 to 21.

The global fiscal watchdog had set out an action plan of 34 points for Pakistan, of which 27- point action plan was related to terror backing and 7- point action plan was related with plutocrat laundering.

In its statement after the grand in June, the FATF, in a statement said” At its June 2022 Plenary, the FATF made the original determination that Pakistan has mainly completed its two action plans, covering 34 particulars, and clearances an on- point visit to corroborate that the perpetration of Pakistan’s AML/ CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain perpetration and enhancement in the future.”

A 15- member platoon of the FATF visited Pakistan from August 29 to September 2, and met officers concerned about the fiscal system of Pakistan, including the state bank, finance ministry, after which it prepared an onsite report on the country.The findings of the platoon, which included officers from the US, the UK, Australia, EU and others, will be submitted and bandied during the grand session nextt week in Paris.

The Pakistan delegation will be led by Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar.Pakistan has been on the slate list of the FATF since June 2018 for failing to check plutocrat laundering, leading to terror backing.

Having failed to get off the slate list, Islamabad has faced problem in entering fiscal aid from the International Monetary Fund( IMF), the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank( ADB) and the European Union, therefore further enhancing problems for the country.

Established in 1989, the FATF aims to combat plutocrat laundering, terrorist backing and other affiliated pitfalls to the integrity of the transnational fiscal system.The FATF presently has 39 members including two indigenous organisations– the European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. India is a member of the FATF consultations and its Asia Pacific Group.