Postal Life corporatised on demand of FATF

Entire system of Pakistan Post to be digitised in next 6 months, NA panel told

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Post has decided to corporatise the Postal Life Insurance on demand of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), a global body working to counter money laundering terror financing.

“The process of digitisation is also being designed according to the rules prescribed by the FATF which would make the process of receiving and sending money abroad faster,” an official of the Pakistan Post told the National Assembly Standing Committee on Postal Services which met on Thursday.

“The entire system of the Pakistan Post is going to be digitized in the next 6 months,” he added.

Earlier, the Pakistan Post Director General Akhlaque Rana told the panel that the organisation has allocated 500 post offices across the country for overseas Pakistanis to enable them to remit amounts – as low as 500 Rayal/Dollars – to their families without any deductions.

He said the service will be inaugurated by the Prime Minister Imran Khan in third week of December which later will be extended to 32,000 locations across the country.

Postal service to India restored 

“The basic focus of the service is to improve the rural economy through the Pakistan Post along with making the process of receiving remittances easier for uneducated Pakistanis who are familiar with the Post Office culture instead of banking sector,” he added.

He said these steps are taken under the Foreign Remittances Initiative (FRI) that aimed at encouraging the overseas Pakistanis to remit their cash through legal means which would eventually lead to boost foreign exchange reserves of the country.

Pakistan Post Additioanl DG Ejaz Ahmad Minhas told the committee that the Pakistan Post will launch a campaign in both electronic and print media for publicity and awareness of public regarding its services and different initiatives that have been taken in the recent past by the department.

The committee appreciated the efforts that were being made by the Postal Ministry to contribute towards the economy and getting the postal services recognized as the trust worthy public sector department.

The committee chairman MNA Imtiaz Ahmad Choudhary, however, expressed concern over illegal occupation of the Pakistan Post properties and said this occupation seemed to have taken place with the connivance of some officials of the organisation.

The meeting was attended by MNAs Shaukat Ali Bhatti, Munawar BiBi Baloch, Javed Husnain and Rukhasana Naveed and officials of the Ministry.