The decision came after 4 years of efforts on curbing terror financing, 34 point action plan
The decision came after 4 years of efforts on curbing terror financing, 34 point action plan
Four years after it was placed on the “grey list” and penalised with severe financial strictures by the Financial Action Task Force, Pakistan won a major reprieve on October 21, as the international watchdog on terror financing and money laundering agreed to remove Pakistan’s name from the list of countries under “increased monitoring”.
The decision was announced at the end of the FATF’s plenary session, after a consensus decision of all 39-members, including India to accept the review of Pakistan’s efforts on strengthening its anti-money laundering and combating terror financing (AML/CFT) mechanisms.
In addition, the process has ensured that Pakistan align its laws to international laws on AML/CFT and pursue UNSC banned terrorists, that led to the prosecution of a number of terror groups and leaders including the Lashkar-e-Taiba’s Hafiz Saeed, 26/11 handler Sajid Mir, commander Zaki Ur Rahman Lakhvi and others. While Pakistan failed to imprison Jaish-e-Mohammad Chief Masood Azhar, authorities pursued cases against him, declaring him “missing”.
In all, the FATF said Pakistan had completed two action plans comprising a 34-point tasklist in the period since 2018.
“Pakistan has strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime and addressed technical deficiencies to meet the commitments of its action plans regarding strategic deficiencies that the FATF identified in June 2018 and June 2021, the latter of which was completed in advance of the deadlines, encompassing 34 action items in total,” FATF President T. Raja Kumar told the media on Friday.
“Pakistan is, therefore, no longer subject to the FATF’s increased monitoring process,” he added, saying he hoped Pakistan would continue to coordinate its efforts with the FATF’s Asia Pacific Group.
Hailing the decision, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said he would “congratulate the people of Pakistan”.
India’s other neighbour on the list, Myanmar was moved from the grey list to the “black list” and will face even more severe financial sanctions and an inability to procure IMF, World Bank and ADB loans.
