Announcing Pakistan’s clearance by the Financial Action Task Force's (FATF), Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Hina Rabbani Khar stated that the country had 'learnt its lesson' and would 'never again' make the same mistakes regarding terror financing.
Addressing a press conference yesterday (Friday) following the FATF's announcement regarding the completion of the remaining two action plans by Pakistan — thus clearing it from the grey list, Khar said that the official removal from the grey list would come after the watchdog visited Pakistan.
In response to a question about whether Pakistan would turn a 'blind eye' when it came to funding extremist religious groups, and whether it thought that was an internal issue, Khar said that nothing remains solely an internal issue when the repercussions are so problematic.
The minister said that Pakistan's clearance by the FATF was the result of the comprehensive reforms that had been carried out in the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT) domain.
"Because as you can see, the first action plan took us much longer while this one was completed before the set timeline and this was something which was very well recognized throughout the plenary by all the members,” she said.
Khar said that Pakistan’s positive and speedy progress was greatly appreciated and welcomed by FATF members.
She said the FATF has decided 'by consensus' that Pakistan has met all the requirements and addressed all the bench marks required for its removal from the list, which will be formalized after the on-site visit by the watchdog.
"It marks the beginning of the end process that will eventually culminate in the exit of Pakistan from the FATF’s grey list, InshaAllah and hopefully forever,” she said.
Addressing a press conference yesterday (Friday) following the FATF's announcement regarding the completion of the remaining two action plans by Pakistan — thus clearing it from the grey list, Khar said that the official removal from the grey list would come after the watchdog visited Pakistan.
In response to a question about whether Pakistan would turn a 'blind eye' when it came to funding extremist religious groups, and whether it thought that was an internal issue, Khar said that nothing remains solely an internal issue when the repercussions are so problematic.
"The lesson learnt is never again. Not for the sake of others, but for our own sake," she said.
The minister said that Pakistan's clearance by the FATF was the result of the comprehensive reforms that had been carried out in the Anti-Money Laundering/Combating the Financing of Terrorism (AML-CFT) domain.
"Because as you can see, the first action plan took us much longer while this one was completed before the set timeline and this was something which was very well recognized throughout the plenary by all the members,” she said.
Khar said that Pakistan’s positive and speedy progress was greatly appreciated and welcomed by FATF members.
She said the FATF has decided 'by consensus' that Pakistan has met all the requirements and addressed all the bench marks required for its removal from the list, which will be formalized after the on-site visit by the watchdog.
"It marks the beginning of the end process that will eventually culminate in the exit of Pakistan from the FATF’s grey list, InshaAllah and hopefully forever,” she said.