INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Pak's placement on to grey list could hurt country's economy as well as its international standing.Islamabad: Pakistan has been placed on
the grey list by the Financial Action Task Force or FATF for failing to curb anti-terror financing despite its diplomatic efforts to avert
the decision, an official said today.The decision was taken late Wednesday night at the global financial watchdog plenary session in Paris
where Finance Minister Shamshad Akhtar represented Pakistan, according to official sources.The announcement comes a day after Pakistan
submitted a comprehensive 26-point action plan to the FATF to choke the funding of terrorist groups, including Mumbai attack mastermind
Hafiz Saeed-led JuD and its affiliates, to avoid being blacklisted by it.The placement on to grey list could hurt Pakistan's economy as well
as its international standing
Earlier in the day, Mr Akhtar had urged the FATF to remove Pakistan from its grey list.As the 37-nation FATF plenary began its proceedings
on Pakistan's 26-point action plan spanning over a period of 15 months, the Pakistani delegation apprised the watchdog of steps Islamabad
had taken to weed out money laundering and terror financing to avoid the country being placed on the grey list.Official sources in the
Foreign Office said that being placed officially on the grey list was not a surprise for Pakistan
"It is a political decision and nothing to do with the performance of Pakistan against terrorism," they said.They said that Pakistan will
stay on the list for a year or so and will eventually be out of it as has happened in the past
Pakistan remained on the FATF grey list from 2012 to 2015.The process began in February 2018 when FATF approved the nomination of Pakistan
for monitoring under its International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) commonly known as grey list.Pakistan was asked to prepare a plan to
address international body's concerns and get its approval or it could risk being moved to the black list.It presented a 26-point plan of
action to the FATF planery with the commitment to implement it over a period of 15 months to address the concerns of the global
community.The endorsement of the plan means that FATF formally placed Pakistan on the list
In case it had rejected the plan, Pakistan would have been on FATF's Public Statement, also called as the black list.On June 20, the
Securities and Exchange Commission of Pakistan issued Anti Money Laundering and Countering Financing of Terrorism Regulations 2018, in
compliance with FATF recommendations.On June 8, the National Security Committee (NSC) reaffirmed its commitment to cooperate with FATF.The
FATF is an inter-governmental body established in 1989 to combat money laundering, terrorist financing and other related threats to the
integrity of the international financial system.By January next year, Pakistan will publish updated lists of persons and entities proscribed
under the Anti-Terrorism Act and the UN-designated entities.
