ISLAMABAD:Pakistan may not be removed from Financial Action Task Forcegreylist, Media Report has revealed.
Islamabad may seek extension im the current deadline to comply with 27action plans from February to June next year as the current deadline is tooshort. However, sources said the FATF had already granted an extension tillFebruary 2020 in a meeting held in October this year.
Pakistan submitted a report comprising answers to 22 questions to theFinancial Action Task Force (FATF), officials said on Friday.
The report details Pakistan’s actions against the groups the United Nationshas listed as terrorist organisations as well as sentences handed to themby the courts.
Prepared by the representatives of the ministries of foreign affairs,interior, and finance, Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan(SECP), Financial Monitoring Unit, State Bank of Pakistan, National CounterTerrorism Authority (NACTA), Counter-Terrorism Department (CTD), FederalInvestigation Agency (FIA), and the Pakistan Army, the report further notesthat common people who worked in groups the UN listed as terroristorganisations were provided alternative employment, while the control ofsome 113 madrassas has been handed over to the federal government.
The said madrassas were now working under the relevant assistantcommissioners, whereas the teachers and students in those institutions hadbeen provided a two-year budget.
According to the report, investigations into the sponsors and facilitatorsfunding the terrorist activities, as well as methodologies of the SBP andthe FIA to stop terrorism-financing in future, have been explained. Aprocess to halt hundi-hawala and currency smuggling has been set up as well.
Nevertheless, a system to regulate jewellery and real estate businesses, aswell as lawyers’ fees from petitioners, could not be set up.
The FATF, consequent to Pakistan’s responses, would schedule a meeting inBeijing, China, on January 21 to prepare follow-up conditions. Should therebe any further questions from the money-laundering and terrorism financingwatchdog, Islamabad was obligated to respond before December 20.
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However, a categorical decision to remove Pakistan from the FATF’s greylist will be taken during a February 2020 plenary review meeting in Paris,France.
Earlier, the FATF had asked 27 questions pertaining to Pakistan’s effortsto stop terrorism financing, with Islamabad already having satisfied thebody over five of them.
At the time, Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar had said Pakistansubmitted its compliance report to the FATF to show its efforts to changeanti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing laws.
*Read more: Pakistan submits compliance report to FATFlink*
Azhar, who is also team leader of the country on FATF, had said: “Therewill be a response from them and then (there will be) a face-to-facemeeting.”
The task force, which kept the country on the grey list for an extendedperiod till February 2020, had warned in the previous meeting thatIslamabad would be put on the blacklist if it did not comply with theremaining 22 points.
