Pakistan to remain in grey list of Financial Action Task Force, say sources

Pakistan will remain in the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), sources told news agency ANI on Tuesday. Turkey and Malaysia supported Pakistan. This comes after Pakistan submitted a report on action regarding the implementation of the watchdog`s plan of action during the Paris meeting. FATF on Tuesday evaluated whether the south Asian nation has taken sufficient steps and implemented its plan of action to fight the global menace.

The FATF, a global terror financing watchdog, in 2018 placed Pakistan on the grey list and the watchdog has already granted Islamabad an extension till February 2020 during a meeting in October 2019. The FATF had warned that Islamabad would be put on the blacklist if it did not comply with the remaining 22 out of 27 points related to anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing.

If blacklisted, Pakistan would have to face isolation from the international banking system, introducing stricter checks and safeguards on transactions involving the country. The progress of a FATF initiative to combat financial flows from the illegal wildlife trade, adopting guidance on digital identity, and developments in the financing of ISIL, Al-Qaeda, and affiliates were some of the issues that were discussed during the meeting.

Defence experts in India on February 15 had noted that the recent sentencing of Jamaat-ud-Dawa (JuD) chief Hafiz Saeed, just days ahead of the FATF meeting in Paris is just an eyewash to delude the international community and that the Mumbai terror attacks mastermind will be released shortly after the watchdog announces its decision.

In 2019, under pressure after the FATF review, Pakistan formally banned JuD and other associated organizations, after years of allowing them to operate freely across the country.