On Saturday, PAK Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said there was “no room” for Pakistan to remain on the FATF’s “grey list”. It had implemented 26 of the global body’s 27 points of action against money laundering and terror financing.
Qureshi’s remarks came a day after the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on its ‘grey list’ for failing to monitor money laundering, which leads to terror financing, during its plenary conference from June 21-25.
It further demanded that Islamabad investigate and prosecute prominent leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist organizations, such as Hafiz Saeed and Masood Azhar. He stated that whatever measures Pakistan took were in its best interests and that stopping money laundering and terror financing was also in the country’s interests.
According to Qureshi, “certain powers” wanted Pakistan to remain on the FATF’s “grey list,” and the global forum should be investigated to see if it is being exploited for political goals.
He said that the FATF has acknowledged that Pakistan has implemented 26 of the 27 action plans, with significant progress. He also believes there is no reason to put Pakistan on the grey list after implementing 26 action plans.
FATF President Marcus Pleyer said in a virtual press conference on Friday that the Pakistani government has failed to address the risk of money laundering This has led to corruption and terror financing.
The UN has declared Jaish-e-Mohammed (JeM) chairman Azhar, Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Saeed, and its ‘operational commander’ Zakiur Rehman Lakhvi as terrorists located in Pakistan. Pleyer also stated that the FATF has ordered Pakistan to take action against UN-designated terrorists, noting that Pakistan had completed 26 of the 27 action items allocated to it in 2018.
Since June 2018, Pakistan has been on the FATF’s grey list for shortcomings in its counter-terrorist financing and anti-money laundering regimes.
