BERLIN, GERMANY– All eyes are on the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary conference, which ends today (Friday), with Pakistan hoping to secure a ‘onsite visit’ that could help Islamabad come off the grey list.
In an interview with the BBC, a senior official indicated that recent reports on the plenary meeting offer promising signals of a decision in Pakistan’s favour.
Other countries’ permission and consolation in the conference, he said, is equally crucial.
He did say, however, that even if Pakistan is removed from the watch list, the FATF team will return Pakistan for an inspection, which will take seven to eight months to complete.
Pakistan had embarked on a huge diplomatic campaign to remove itself from the FATF’s grey list. The Pakistan delegation is led by Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar, who is also the chair of Pakistan’s National FATF Coordination Committee. The plenary conference began on June 14.
Pakistan requires the votes of Turkey, China, and Malaysia to be removed from the list, and all three nations have pledged their complete support to Pakistani authorities. As a result, there are currently strong prospects that Pakistan will be removed from the FATF’s grey list following the current meeting in Berlin, Germany.
Germany, the United States, and other countries have shown some support for Pakistan’s request to be removed from the FATF’s grey list.
According to sources, substantial discussions about FATF took place during Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif’s, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s, and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar’s recent travels to several nations. Important countries expressed a mild attitude toward Pakistan at all of these summits.
Pakistan has implemented almost all points of the FATF Action Plan, except for the penalties, and Pakistan has made prosecutions and all relevant legal amendments.
In June 2018, Pakistan was added to the FATF’s list of countries under enhanced scrutiny.
