Pakistan will remain on the FATF gray list until June

Pakistan has been given till June 2021 to get out of the gray list

Pakistan has been given till June 2021 to get out of the gray list

Islamabad … News Time

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF), an international body working to curb money laundering and terrorist financing, has given Pakistan until June 2021 to get out of the gray list. On Thursday, FATF President Dr. Marcus Pleyer made the announcement in a virtual news conference after a three-day meeting in Paris. According to Dr. Marcus Pleyer, Pakistan has assured the FATF of implementation of the action plan at the highest level. At present, Pakistan cannot be blacklisted. The FATF held a three-day meeting in Paris where after reviewing the steps taken by Pakistan, it was decided to keep it on the gray list. The FATF says Pakistan has implemented 24 of the 27 points. According to him, Pakistan has made good progress in implementing the action plan, but some serious shortcomings remain. Their shortcomings are related to the financing of terrorism. He said that Pakistan would have to fully implement the remaining three points. Pakistan needs to improve its investigative and prosecution measures against terrorist financing groups, organizations and individuals. The FATF president says those on the UN terrorist list have been arrested and sentenced by the courts. Replying to a question, the FATF President said that Pakistan would now have a discus in June. He further said that as soon as Pakistan will implement the remaining points, then we will see how sustainable Pakistan’s implementation is.

At the meeting held in October last year, the FATF appreciated the positive progress made by Pakistan in implementing 21 out of 27 points and directed to implement the remaining 6 points as well. The 6 points provided by the FATF include ensuring a large-scale investigation and financing of terrorist financing by law enforcement agencies, individuals listed by the United Nations as terrorists. This included the investigation and prosecution of individuals and individuals involved in similar activities under the auspices of UN nominees. In addition, Pakistan must ensure that law enforcement agencies such as banks, etc., receive administrative and civil penalties for aiding and abetting terrorism, and those provincial and federal agencies cooperate in this regard.

What steps has Pakistan taken so far?

Since the October meeting, Pakistan has taken effective measures to speed up the implementation of legislation on the FATF, including prosecuting and punishing those on the UN terrorism list. In November last year, the Lahore Anti-Terrorism Court sentenced Hafiz Muhammad Saeed, head of the banned Jamaat-ud-Dawa, to more than 10 years in prison for financing terrorism and ordered the confiscation of all his assets. In January this year, an anti-terrorism court in Lahore sentenced Zaki-ur-Rehman Lakhvi, a key leader of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba, to more than 15 years in prison on charges of obtaining funds from abroad and financing terrorism. Cases have also been registered against those who supported the banned organization. Talking about the steps taken by Pakistan to get out of the FTF gray list, Foreign Office Spokesperson Zahid Hafeez Chaudhry said that Pakistan has fully implemented 21 out of the 27-point action plan which was approved by the FTF also appreciated by ATF members. A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: “We believe that considerable work has been done on the remaining six points and progress is being made in some areas. It is hoped that the steps taken by Pakistan at the FATF meeting will be appreciated.

Is there a chance for Pakistan to get out of the gray list?

Former Chairman Board of Investment Haroon Sharif said that steps have been taken by Pakistan on which we can present our position correctly but this time Pakistan did not see the kind of diplomacy that it should have. According to Haroon Sharif, Pakistan has also enacted legislation on this issue and has taken several steps which is a very positive development. But now the issue is not just a matter of legislation, but also of lobbying on the diplomatic front, which is not the case this time. Defense analyst Lt. Gen. (retd) Talat Masood also said that Pakistan should not have high expectations from the ongoing review meeting in Paris as Pakistan has taken a number of steps which were in line with the FATF action plan but now There are also steps that need to be taken so that the FATF does not immediately remove Pakistan from the gray list. Lieutenant General (retd) Talat Masood said that the FATF was of the view that Pakistan needed to take more stern action against the banned organizations. He added that there are agencies in Pakistan that are taking steps against money laundering and terrorist financing, but there is still time to implement the new laws. According to Haroon Sharif, former chairman of the Board of Investment, the FATF review team could not come to Pakistan due to the corona virus, so the international body has the right to keep Pakistan on the gray list. Haroon Sharif said that to what extent the steps taken by Pakistan are being implemented, the FATF review team had to come to Pakistan which could not come due to corona virus. Therefore, Pakistan can be kept on the gray list for some more time due to lack of review.

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