FATF retains Pakistan on terror funding Grey List; govt says 'inching closer to removal'

Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday retained Pakistan in its ‘grey list’. The terror-financing watchdog stated that it would take a decision on the removal of the South Asian country from the list only after an onsite visit. The statement was made by the terror-financing watchdog in the FATF June 2022 plenary session held in Germany.

Pakistan was placed on the grey list, or list of countries under increased monitoring, in June 2018 and was given a 27-point action plan by FATF to curb terror financing. 

"In particular, Pakistan demonstrated that terror financing investigations and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terrorist groups and that there is a positive upwards trend in the number of Money Laundering investigations and prosecutions being pursued in Pakistan, in line with Pakistan’s risk profile," a statement released by the FATF read. It added, "The FATF will continue to monitor the COVID-19 situation, and conduct an on-site visit at the earliest possible date."

Credit fight for moving an 'inch-closer'

Following the announcement, Pakistan Minister for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar congratulated Pakistan for inching closer toward removal from the grey list. “The intl (international) community has unanimously ack (acknowledged) our efforts. Our success is the result of 4 years of challenging journey,” the state minister said in a tweet, adding "Pakistan reaffirms its resolve to continue the momentum and give the country’s economy a boost". 

Miffed at not being credited, former Foreign Affairs Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi took to the microblogging site to highlight that Pakistan was put on the FATF grey list in 2018 under PMLN. "Today, FATF has declared both Action plans completely based on comprehensive Post Observation Performance Report submitted by PTI (Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf) government in March," the PTI leader wrote, moving on to congratulate his party colleagues, especially ousted Pak Prime Minister Imran Khan.