FATF meeting begins Pakistan in the gray list from 2018, now expected to come out; 206 members will decide

The important meeting of the two-day Financial Action Task Force (FATF) started in Paris on Thursday. The eyes of the world are on whether the 206-member committee of FATF will remove Pakistan from the gray list this time. Pakistan's new Finance Minister Ishaq Dar is currently on a US tour. Dar had claimed on Monday that his country would now come out of the gray list as it had fulfilled all the FATF conditions.

near Singapore

The FATF Presidency is with Singapore for two years. IMF, UN, World Bank, Interpol, and Financial Intelligence Unit are also included in the list of 206 members.

During this, it will also be investigated which countries are at risk of the international financial system. The media will also be informed. Most of the focus will be on transparency.

Pakistan was included in the gray list in June 2018. He is facing charges of money laundering, terror funding, and weak lawmaking. The FATF clarified that the global financial system could be at risk because of Pakistan.

increased terms

In 2018, the FATF asked Pakistan to fulfill 27 conditions. Later this number increased to 34. Since then the Pakistan government is claiming that it has fulfilled all the conditions of FATF and now it should be taken off the gray list.

According to a report in Pakistan's newspaper 'The Dawn', the country was asked to fulfill 40 conditions, not 34. During this time the government there made strict laws to prevent money laundering and terror funding. Terrorists like Hafiz Saeed were put in jail.

secret visit to Pakistan

The FATF did not believe the claims of the Government of Pakistan. Therefore, 15 of its members made a secret visit from 29 August to 2 September to know the ground situation there. According to the report, the documents were verified during this period.

Later the media was only told about this visit and that the visit was successful. It is being said that during this time reports were taken from all the important agencies of Pakistan on the matters of terror funding. This report will be considered.

After this, the members will decide whether to keep Pakistan on the gray list or it should be removed it. Overall, the future of Pakistan in FATF will depend on this report.

Why expect to come out of the gray list

Pakistan claims that it had fulfilled 38 conditions in June itself. The remaining two were also assured of implementation. The Shahbaz Sharif government is currently going through a very difficult phase financially.

A few months ago, a flood caused great destruction in the country. 1700 people died. Nearly 3 crores became homeless. Now the Sharif government is making all the appeals for help from the world. Pakistan itself has only $8 billion. Of these, $3.5 billion are deposits in the form of guarantees. This money belongs to Saudi Arabia and UAE.

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