By India Blooms News Service Oct 21, 2022
New Delhi: India reacted to Pakistan's removal from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list and said the world should remain clear that the South Asian nation must continue to take credible, verifiable, irreversible and sustained action against terrorism and terrorist financing emanating from territories under its control.
We understand that Pakistan will continue to work with the Asia Pacific Group on Money Laundering (APG) to further improve its Anti Money Laundering (AML) /Counter Terror Financing (CFT) system, Ministry of External Affairs Spokesperson Arindam Bagchi said in a statement.
As a result of FATF scrutiny, Pakistan has been forced to take some action against well-known terrorists, including those involved in attacks against the entire international community in Mumbai on 26/11, he said.
Pakistan has made its way out of the FATF grey list, four years after the global watchdog on terror financing and money laundering put the country under the organisations close scrutiny for involvement in terror funding.
The Financial Action Task Force or FATF said on Friday that Pakistan is no longer subject to FATFs increased monitoring process. The country would continue to work with APG (Asia/Pacific Group on Money Laundering) to further improve its AML/CFT (anti-money laundering counter-terrorist financing) system.
Pakistan removed from anti-terror watchdog FATFs grey list after 4 yrs
The FATF is an inter-governmental body set up to combat money laundering, terror financing and other related threats to the integrity of the international financial system.
While being on FATFs grey list, Pakistan found it difficult to get aid from International Monetary Fund (IMF), World Bank, Asian Development Bank (ADB), and the European Union, multiplying its inflation and infrastructure-related problems.
Nicaragua has also been removed from the grey list, while Myanmar has been put on the more severe, black list.
Russia, which continues its war with Ukraine, has been sidelined.
The decision to strike Pakistan off of the list was made during the FATFs meeting in Paris.
The watchdog had set a 34-point action plan for Pakistan, 27 pertaining to terror financing, and seven to money laundering.
In June, the FATF said in a statement at its plenary: Pakistan has substantially completed its two action plans, signalling that there was a probability of the countrys exit from its grey list. An on-site verification was pending at that time.