Pakistan Exits FATF Grey List
Wire desk byline Sourced from Xinhua, Dawn, Arab News, Anadolu and Minute Mirror. Translated and abridged by the GSRRA Desk.
The whole nation is celebrating the exit from Grey list of FATF. It means that Pakistan has implemented all the recommendations of FATF and achieved a satisfactory level of FATF. It was not an easy task, but an uphill task, and a lot of hard work and uninterested struggle were made over a few years. It was the result of collective efforts of all ministries, departments, institutions, and the public as well as the private sector. The Pakistani public also extended a helping hand and cooperated very well.
The Financial Action Task Force has decided by consensus that Pakistan has completed all substantial, technical, and procedural requirements of both the 2018 and 2021 Action Plans. As a result, Pakistan has been taken off the list of jurisdictions under increased monitoring, with immediate effect.
This decision was taken during the FATF Plenary meeting held in Paris, France from 20-21 October 2022. Minister of State for Foreign Affairs/Chairperson National FATF Coordination Committee, Ms. Hina Rabbani Khar, led the Pakistan delegation to the FATF Plenary.
Pakistan has made enormous progress in the Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) domain over the course of fulfilling the requirements of both Action Plans. Despite many challenges, including the Covid-19 pandemic, Pakistan continued the reform trajectory and sustained the high-level political commitment to aligning its domestic AML/CFT regime with international best practices.
Achieving FATF targets was a whole-of-nation endeavor. Multiple ministries, departments, and agencies, both at the Federal and Provincial levels, contributed to achieving this national objective. The engagement with FATF has led to strategic improvements in Pakistan’s laws and procedures, making its domestic AML/CFT regime more resilient to cope with current and future challenges.
Pakistan thanks the FATF members and the international community for providing valuable support during the Action Plan period. Pakistan reiterates that it will continue building on this mutually beneficial cooperation to sustain the gains. Pakistan also looks forward to sharing its expertise, knowledge, and experience with other countries to enhance the effectiveness of FATF standards at the global level.
It is desired that a strict policy may remain intact and all illegal money laundering must be prevented in the future. It is in the best interest of the nation and we must adhere to the same level of strictness.
Reference Link:- https://mofa.gov.pk/pakistan-exits-fatfs-grey-list/
Zamir Ahmed Awan is the founder and Chair of the Global Silk Route Research Alliance, a think tank in Islamabad. He studied engineering at Shanghai University in the 1980s, and years later he went back to China as Pakistan's science counsellor in Beijing, from 2010 until 2016, working on science and higher education cooperation between the two countries.…
