Pakistan may face yet another economic blow
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ISLAMABAD - IMF hinted it might link the bailout package to Pakistan’s commitments to the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
In June, Pakistan agreed to tighten its compliance with anti-money laundering laws and counter-terror funding after being placed on the FATF “gray list” of “jurisdictions with strategic deficiencies”. But on Friday Finance Minister Asad Umar said the government would not bow to any IMF pressure if it did not suit the national interest.
“The government is neither in a hurry to sign a deal with the IMF nor will it come under any pressure to take any decision which burdens the country’s economy and its people,” the minister said while briefing parliamentarians on the progress of negotiations with the IMF.
Government’s economic spokesperson Farrukh Saleem said he wasn’t sure whether the IMF had insisted on Pakistan’s compliance with the FATF, “but generally speaking the IMF engagement is always linked with the FATF activities, as both institutions are interlinked”.
