Foreign Minister Hina Rabbani Khar said Pakistan was confident of getting off the list.
islamabad:
Pakistan is “one step away” from getting off a “grey list” of dirty money after the global watchdog said an on-site visit could lead to the South Asian nation’s ouster, the minister said on Saturday. of State for Foreign Affairs.
The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) kept Pakistan on the list on Friday but said a visit to check progress in combating the financing of terrorism and money laundering could lead to its removal. removal from countries under increased supervision.
The financial crimes watchdog, set up by the Group of Seven industrial powers to protect the global financial system, said Islamabad had substantially completed its two action plans, covering 34 items, as it seeks to delist where it has been since 2018.
“Pakistan is one step away from getting off the gray list, God willing,” the minister, Hina Rabbani Khar, told a news conference in Islamabad.
The FATF said that an on-site visit was warranted to verify that the reforms had begun and were being sustained, as well as that the necessary political commitment was maintained.
Khar said that Islamabad will prepare for the on-site visit ahead of the next FATF plenary session in October, adding that the FATF will visit and inspect all measures and legislation that Pakistan has implemented on money laundering and terrorist financing. .
He said Pakistan was confident of getting off the list, which would help build confidence in its economic framework.
Getting off the gray list could boost foreign inflows, specifically portfolio and direct investment, Saad Hashemy, chief executive of BMA Capital Securities, told Reuters.
“We have not only met the schedule. We have exceeded the schedule,” the minister said. “I’m very confident that if we stay on the same trajectory, we’ll get out of it and never go down this path again.”
(This story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is automatically generated from a syndicated feed.)
