Pakistan launches diplomatic effort to get out off FATF grey list: Report

Pakistan has launched a massive diplomatic effort to get off the grey list of global money laundering and terrorist financing watchdog FATF, a media report said on Tuesday.

Pakistan has been on the grey list of the Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing, and was given a plan of action to complete it by October 2019.

Since then, the country continues to be on that list due to its failure to comply with the FATF mandates.

Pakistan needs the votes of Turkey, China, and Malaysia to get off the list, and all three countries have assured the Pakistani authorities of full support for the purpose, the News International reported.

The decision on Pakistan's status on the list will be taken during the current meeting being held from June 14 to 17 in Berlin, Germany, official sources were quoted by The News International on Tuesday.

According to sources, during the recent visits of Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif, Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari and Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar to different countries, important discussions took place regarding FATF.

Pakistan has implemented almost all points of the FATF Action Plan, except for the penalties, and Pakistan has made prosecutions and all relevant legal amendments, the report added.

The FATF meeting in Berlin will continue until June 17 and on the final day of the meeting, the forum will decide whether or not to keep various countries on its black and grey lists.

With Pakistan's continuation on the grey list, it is increasingly becoming difficult for Islamabad to get financial aid from the IMF, the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the European Union, thus further enhancing problems for the country.

Pakistan has so far avoided being on the black list with the help of close allies like China, Turkey and Malaysia.

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.

The FATF currently has 39 members including two regional organisations -- the European Commission and Gulf Cooperation Council. India is a member of the FATF consultations and its Asia Pacific Group.