Pak may stay on FATF grey list after Feb 2020: Minister
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan is likely to remain on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for a longer period - perhaps beyond February 2020 - as it may be given yet another action plan for implementation on the basis of a recently approved Mutual Evaluation Report (MER), economic affairs minister Hammad Azhar told parliament on Thursday.
Azhar told the parliamentary committee on finance and revenue that as a result of the MER from the Asia Pacific Group (APG) - a regional terror financing watchdog along the lines of the FATF - Islamabad was initially under observation till October 2020. But, he cautioned, “If we do not fully implement the APG’s recommendations by October next year, a new action plan of one to three years can be given to
Pakistan.”
GOVT TO ‘AZADI MARCH’ PROTESTERS: LET’S TALK
The government told the opposition leaders, led by cleric-cumpolitician Maulana Fazlur Rehman, to end their agitation, even as the protestors demanding the resignation of PM Imran Khan refused to call off their sit-in. Defence minister Pervez Khattak told the opposition parties to “come to the table” to resolve differences.
AILING SHARIF TO FLY TO UK FOR TREATMENT
Pakistan’s ailing former PM Nawaz Sharif has heeded doctors’ advice and given in to his family’s request to fly to London for the treatment of his diseases, his daughter Maryam Nawaz said. The Pakistan government has decided to let Sharif go abroad for treatment due to his critical medical condition.
IMF SET TO RELEASE $6BN LOAN PACKAGE
Pakistan’s fiscal deficits are narrowing, the IMF said on Friday as it announced it would release the first tranche of its $6 billion financial assistance programme to the country.