ISLAMABAD – Foreign Office has confirmed that Pakistan will be placed on the grey, not the black, list of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in June this year for failing to curb terror financing.
FO Spokesperson Dr Mohammad Faisal, for the first time, officially confirmed on Wednesday briefing, “Pakistan will be assigned to the ‘grey list’ in June, once an Action Plan has been mutually negotiated”.
He also said, “The statement that Pakistan will be transferred from the ‘grey’ to the ‘black’ list in June this year, is therefore not true. The FATF website clearly demarcates the countries in ‘black’ list, as those who are non-cooperative”.
The grey list is maintained for identifying countries, which failed to take appropriate steps to curb money-laundering and terror financing.
Replying to a question regarding specific demands made by FATF, He said: “It has highlighted certain deficiencies in the Anti-Money Laundering and Countering of Terrorist Financing (AML/CFT) framework of Pakistan”.
The Government of Pakistan, over the last few years, has taken a number of measures to address these issues, including thorough enactment of legislation, issuance of regulations and guidelines by SBP and SECP to the financial sector, establishment of the Financial Monitoring Unit and implementation of UNSC 1267 sanctions on the entities of concern (JuD/FIF)”.
He vowed that Pakistan will take further actions for addressing any remaining deficiencies in order to avoid FATF action.
The US moved a resolution in the FATF, seeking to put Pakistan on grey list for alleged inaction against to prevent terror financing, where banned militant outfits are involved in raising funds. The resolution was also co-sponsored by Germany, France, and Britain.
In a recent six-day long plenary session of the international watchdog took up the resolution but it was reprieved for three months, until June.
https://en.dailypakistan.com.pk/headline/pakistan-survives-attempt-to-put-it-on-fatfs-grey-list/
The session concluded on Friday last week in Paris, releasing a grey list featuring nine countries – Ethiopia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Serbia, Sri Lanka, Trinidad and Tabago, Vanuatu and Tunisia – with strategic deficiencies posing a risk to the international financial system.
Talking about relations with the US, Faisal said that US had moved FATF against Pakistan, “but side by side, we see a change in some sections of the US Administration, as US CENTCOM Chief General Joseph Votel has appreciated Pakistan’s role in fighting terrorism”.
He added, “We continue to get differing signals from different parts of the US Government. General Votel, as you mentioned, appreciated the positive indicators from Pakistan. Pakistan has made immense efforts to address issues related to counter-terrorism. We continue to ask the US for actionable evidence”.
Ambassador Curtis called on the Foreign Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The meeting took place in the context of our regular and continuous engagement with the US. The main agenda of the meeting of the Foreign Secretary with Ms. Lisa Curtis was to exchange views and understand each other’s perspective on how to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. Both sides have a desire to work together to pursue our common objective of stabilizing Afghanistan.
The main agenda of the meeting of the Foreign Secretary with Ms. Lisa Curtis was to exchange views and understand each other’s perspective on how to bring peace and stability in Afghanistan. Both sides have a desire to work together to pursue our common objective of stabilizing Afghanistan.
