Pakistan stays on FATF grey list

Pakistan has been retained on the “grey list” of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) for another four months, with a stern warning from the global watchdog that met in Paris (February 19-21) to complete the 27-point action plan it has been given by June 2020 or face being put on the “black list”.

“All deadlines in the action plan have expired. While noting recent and notable improvements, the FATF again expresses concern given Pakistan’s failure to complete its action plan in line with the agreed timelines and in light of the Terror Financing risks emanating from the jurisdiction,” a statement issued by the FATF’s plenary session on Friday said.

Pakistan was given a deadline of September 2019 to complete the tasks that included shutting down all access to funding of United Nations Security Council designated terrorist groups, including the Taliban, al-Qaeda, Lashkar-e-Taiba and the Jaish-e-Mohammad and prosecuting their leadership for any access to finance, as well as tightening laws and banking security norms that deal with them.