Terror financing: Pak races to avoid FATF blacklist

›

The caretaker government will do whatever is required to make sure Pakistan is not blacklisted. I am confident Pakistan’s existing legal regime is compliant with global antimoney laundering and counterterror financing regimes ALI ZAFAR, interim law minister

ISLAMABAD : Pakistan’s caretaker government is holding reviews of its new draft action plan against terror financing and money laundering to avoid being blacklisted by a global watchdog which meets later this month.

Pakistan is required to submit the action plan for review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in its plenary meeting, scheduled to take place in Paris from June 24 to June 29.

The country risks being placed on the blacklist of countries that financially aid terrorism if its action plan is rejected by FATF.

The plan was reviewed just two days before the filing of comments to the observations raised by the Asia Pacific Group (APG) on money laundering, The Express Tribune reported.

A federal cabinet meeting discussed recommendations by the APG and the FATF to curb money laundering and terror financing.

The proposed action plan was then reviewed in a meeting chaired by newly appointed interim finance minister Shamshad Akhtar.

The government “will do whatever is required to make sure that Pakistan is not blacklisted,” Ali Zafar, the caretaker minister for information and law, told the Tribune.

“I am confident that Pakistan’s existing legal regime is compliant with global anti-money laundering and counter-terror financing regimes.”

Zafar said the finance ministry will require some more time for finalisation of the plan and then it will make a final presentation before the federal cabinet. He said the caretaker government will try to find solutions to all issues while remaining within the limits of the Constitution.

In a terse statement, the finance ministry only said caretaker minister for finance Shamshad Akhtar chaired a meeting to review different FATF related issues.

In February, the FATF had decided to place Pakistan on its so-called greylist of countries that do not do enough to curb terrorism financing.

It wanted Pakistan to implement 27 recommendations to show progress in four key areas of concern.