BERLIN, GERMANY— All eyes are on the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) plenary meeting, which ends today (Friday), with Pakistan hoping to secure an ‘onsite visit,’ which would bring Islamabad closer to removing itself from the grey list.
In an interview with the BBC, a government official said that recent updates on the plenary meeting show promising signs of a positive outcome for Pakistan.
Other countries’ consent and consolation, he said, are also significant in the meeting.
He said, however, that even if Pakistan is removed from the watchlist, the FATF team will visit Pakistan for an inspection, which will take seven to eight months to complete.
Pakistan had embarked on a massive 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 meeting began on June 14.
Pakistan requires the votes of Turkey, China, and Malaysia to be removed from the list, and all three countries have pledged their full support to Pakistani authorities. As a result, there are now strong chances 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 expressed some support for Pakistan’s request to be removed from the FATF’s grey list.
According to sources, important 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 visits to various countries. Important countries expressed a soft attitude toward Pakistan at all of these meetings.
Except for the penalties, Pakistan has implemented almost all points of the FATF Action Plan, including prosecutions and all relevant legal amendments.
Pakistan was placed on the FATF list of countries under increased monitoring in June 2018.
