Pakistan optimistic about exiting FATF grey list

[mudas777]

"Pakistan is only partner in peace"... PMIK.

Since Biden admin is looking for another round of war in Afghanistan, which will rule out Pakistani cooperation, meaning no ground or air corridors support to American/private contractors/Nato forces. Rest will be done by Taliban. Trump will make plenty of noise back home at Biden "failure" to scuttle Afghan peace which he achieved. So first time , actions in Afghanistan have got both external and internal implications for incumbent administration.

If American deep state thinks blackmailing Pakistan on FATF is an easy option, they are only fooling themselves.

India is just a cheerleader for America/west. I would request Pakistanis to ignore the noise they make. It's a bigger game, much bigger.

Why not announce on TV that Pakistan is going to have a special review about change in heart by NATO withdrawal from Afghanistan soon after the FATF review. Start a rumour mill in the media as we can't continue war on terror due to economy hardships and blow back attacks and as we want to live in peace in the region hence all lines of support extended by the previous governments will be withdrawn. Whoever is on the voting list of FATF just tell them due to economics down turn and Covid 19 they have to cut down their embassy staff by 50 % and NGO's will need to go through new stringent conditions to register back again then see how tables are turned.

 

[Dalit]

Everything on the international scape is political. That includes UN, World Bank, IMF, FATF you name it. Who told you any of these are apolitical organizations. They are only as good as their member countries. And they will vote acording to their interests.

This is where Pakistan will get fcuked for playing the religion card. Was it really neccessary for Pakistan to clash with France? Macron will get his chance now to bite back.

If Macron bites back it could be his last bite against Pakistan. If Pak leaders have the balls they would send his staff on the first plane back to France. Time has come to retaliate. This FATF greylist blacklist drama will continue for an eternity. Are we willing to play along or say that enough is enough?

 

[My-Analogous]

We barely have trade or economic relations with France.

You want to hurt France? Tell their diplomatic staff to pack their bags and leave Pakistan. We know why France is keeping its diplomatic enclave in Pakistan despite all the hatred against Pakistan. Also remove your own diplomatic staff from France. Do the same to all other European nations that are behaving in such a manner. Include UK and Germany. Trust me. They will change their behavior in a minute.

If you want to take it one step further block their supplies in Afghanistan. Remember that all US/NATO supplies still pass through Pakistan. Why the heck should Pakistan allow supplies to pass its soil to nations that are plotting and harming our interests? Insanity.

If we got favorable results in International court, it will put back foot all nations against us and then we have a license to teach them proper lesson and no one can object that because we already have license. Pakistan must asked US to stop using NATO route with immediate effect if US is not support us on FAFT.

 

[Myth_buster_1]

Pakistan should send a message, those who vote for Pakistan be put on black list should start packing their embassies in Pakistan, those who support Pakistan stay on grey list should only have minimum staff at their embassies....you must get tough, you let them bully you they will keep doing it.

Let me tell you something. In that case the Arab brother aka ummah chummah will be the first one to pack their bags since they keep stabbing Pakistani backs to please their Indian masters.

 

[maithil]

Pakistan should retaliate against France by closing their embassy.

 

[PradoTLC]

ISLAMABAD: The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will meet on Monday to discuss and decide whether or not to keep Pakistan on the grey list, Dawn has learned from knowledgeable sources.

The virtual FATF plenary will be held in Paris from February 22 to 25 to consider cases of various countries on the grey list, including Pakistan, and decision will be made at the conclusion of the meetings.

In the last plenary held in October 2020, FATF had announced that Pakistan would continue to remain on its grey list till February 2021 for six out of 27 unmet action plan targets on anti-money laundering (AML) and combating the financing of terrorism (CFT).

An official source close to these developments told Dawn on Saturday that Pakistan had already complied with the six recommendations and also submitted details to the FATF secretariat. The members would now evaluate Pakistan’s responses during the meeting, the source said, adding that Pakistan had made significant progress in legislation as well as its implementation.

Pakistan had submitted a detailed response in October 2020 to FATF. Even then, it demanded more from Islamabad. It is too early to say if this time again FATF may ask for more actions or the existing ones will be enough to remove Pakistan from the grey list. However, the decision would be taken after a consensus among the members, the source said.

Younus Khan, a senior Pakistani journalist based in Paris, told Dawn on WhatsApp that some European countries, especially the host France, had recommended to FATF to continue to keep Pakistan on the grey list and had taken the position that not all points had been fully implemented by Islamabad. Other European countries are also supporting France.

Mr Khan, who regularly follows FATF meetings, said France was not happy with the recent response of Islamabad on the cartoon issue. Pakistan has not even posted a regular ambassador in Paris, he said, adding that diplomatic and economic relations between the two countries were not up to the mark.

The United States has also expressed concern over the acquittal of one of the accused in Daniel Pearl murder case. It is feared that the US may also lobby for continuation of Islamabad on the grey list at least until June this year.

An official, who is not willing to be quoted, told Dawn that Pakistan had submitted a compliance report to FATF. “We can’t say what will be their response to it; let’s wait for the day.”

The official said Pakistan had already done major legislation regarding punishment of terror financing, which was around one year in the old legislation. “We have extended this punishment to five years,” the official said, adding that recently courts had also sentenced people under the new law.

The laws were amended last year to make punishment proportionate to the crime as recommended by FATF.

According to the official, FATF has appreciated the steps taken by Pakistan which has largely complied with the demands of the global watchdog. FATF commended the steps taken by Pakistan and said that progress had been made in terms of money laundering and terror financing, but Islamabad would have to ensure full implementation at all points.

Pakistan was focusing on the implementation of all recently enacted laws to come out of the grey list of FATF. In the last plenary, two action plans given to Pakistan by the watchdog were the “most challenging and comprehensive” ever given to any country.

In 2020, the Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf government had got three laws — the Anti-Money Laundering (second amendment) Bill-2020, Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA) (third amendment) Bill-2020 and Islamabad Capital Territory Waqf Properties Bill-2020 — passed in a joint sitting of parliament to fulfil the legal requirements of FATF.

In October 2020, Minister for Industries and Production Hammad Azhar, who is the government’s point man on FATF, announced that Pakistan had made progress across all action plan items and had now largely addressed 21 of the 27 action items.

When the minister was approached for comments on the implementation status of the remaining six recommendations, he said he would make no comment until the plenary was over and FATF published its statements. “There is a strict confidentiality rule,” he told Dawn via a WhatsApp message.

Background discussions with the relevant officials suggest that Pakistan is confident that it will come out of the grey list since it has taken action against various religious extremist parties and personalities and arrested and punished them. The accounts of various organisations have also been closed and people sentenced. All these actions were taken in the light of FATF’s recommendations.

FATF had placed Pakistan on the grey list in June 2018.

Pakistan optimistic about exiting FATF grey list

Official says Pakistan has complied with the six reccomendations and submitted details to FATF secretariat.

www.dawn.com

The writing is on the wall. Early signs suggest that it will be the same old politically motivated fest with all sided settling scores. Obviously the Western nations and their Indian cheerleader don't have the courage to put Pakistan on the blacklist. Pakistan will continue to live on the greylist.

Should Pakistan even attend such a moot? What is the point of attending a politically motivated conference where the outcome is already pre-determined by settling political scores? Should Pakistan hold itself hostage by attending such a pathetic moot?

I am actually suprise why all the focus on Pakistan?... there are plenty of states that much worse

clearly politically motivates

 

[ali_raza]

now one gets why tlp is teething for french embacy
baba ji was best patriot rest in peace
if this fatf drama doesn’t stop we know which walls to push

 

[khail007]

If Pakistan after so much compliance, still remains on grey list it clearly indicates that we have to keep on dancing on FATF tunes. Now it is time to devise strategic planning to counter such behaviour, from concerned experts in Islamabad.
After every 03 months the plan to be revised in parallel to FATF meeting, against those who have interest in keeping Pakistan in grey or to push in black.