Pak needs to enact laws to fulfil FATF targets
Pakistan will have to enact additional laws to facilitate action that needs to be taken by authorities to apprehend and prosecute people involved in terror financing in order to fully implement the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) action plan, it was decided at a key meeting held this week.
At a meeting of Pakistan’s National Executive Committee (NEC) on anti money-laundering on Monday, it was decided that additional legislation will have to be enacted on at least two counts to implement the FATF’S action plan by June, the Dawn newspaper reported.
The meeting of senior officials was chaired by Pakistan’s finance minister Abdul Hafeez Shaikh to review efforts in the aftermath of the FATF’S plenary meeting last month.
At the conclusion of the plenary meeting on February 25, the FATF retained Pakistan on its “grey list” and asked the country to complete the action plan to counter terror financing before June, including steps to investigate and prosecute individuals and entities involved in such activities.
The FATF said Pakistan had “largely addressed” 24 of the 27 items in the action plan. However, the FATF president Marcus Pleyer pointed out the deficiencies yet to be addressed are all “serious” as they related to terror financing.
At the NEC meeting, it was decided that the additional legislation has to “cover some weaknesses in the existing framework that limited the authorities from taking action, including imposing sanction or apprehending those acting for or on behalf of designated terrorist entities or individuals and prosecuting targeted persons and entities or those working for them”, the report said.
The Pakistan government will have to submit an updated report within 30 days to the FATF on progress in legislation and other steps to be taken to address outstanding concerns. The meeting concluded there shouldn’t be any hurdle in making two more legal amendments, the report said.
MUMBAI: Markets surged over 2% on Wednesday, extending gains for the third straight day as investors took comfort in retreating bond yields in the US and the expanding Covid-19 vaccination drive in India.
The BSE Sensex gained 1,147.76 points or 2.28% to end at 51,444.65, while the Nifty surged 326.50 points or 2.19% to close at 15,245.60.
In other regions of Asia, too, markets ended higher, with Hong Kong’s Hang Seng index, China’s Shanghai Composite, Japan’s Nikkei 225 and South Korea’s Kospi climbing 0.5-3%.
“Markets across the globe were filled with optimism as the focus shifted from concerns over high valuations to a stronger economic recovery and earnings growth. The Indian market was on a rising streak, echoing the global sentiment. The Nifty bank (index), which had a rough week so far, took a breather and led the rally while consolidation was seen in auto stocks,” Vinod Nair, head of research, Geojit Financial Services, said.
Nervousness is ebbing as well: the India volatility index (VIX) fell 6.41% to close at 22.09 on Wednesday. According to Ajit Mishra, vice-president-research, Religare Broking Ltd, investors are taking comfort from domestic factors such as decent macro data, earnings upgrades and the steady progress of the vaccination drive.
“Importantly, the Nifty has reversed last week’s decline, and indications are pointing toward a further surge ahead. We remain cautiously optimistic on the markets and suggest focusing more on the selection of trades,” Mishra said.
Investor wealth rose by ₹9.41 lakh crore in three days of steadily rising markets, with the market capitalisation of Bse-listed companies reaching ₹210.22 lakh crore. In the past three sessions, the Sensex index has rallied 4.78%, while the Nifty has gained 4.93%. The BSE Mid Cap index and the BSE Small Cap gained 298.62 and 279.05 points, respectively, to a record closing of 20,883.90 and 21,085.29.
The government has said that there are enough Covid-19 vaccines for the country even though it has sent quantities overseas, a Reuters report said.
India, which makes 60% of all vaccines in the world, plans to immunize 300 million people— one-fifth of its population— against the virus by August.
According to Kenneth Andrade, founder, Old Bridge Capital Management, the next growth cycle in India could come from manufacturing, utilities, agriculture and digitisation.