Pakistan reaches out to FATF members for support

Islamabad needs support of 12 countries to ensure it is removed from grey list

ISLAMABAD:

Ahead of the crucial meeting of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), Islamabad is reaching out to member states of Paris-based body to seek their support for acknowledging Pakistan's progress on 27-point action plan that may help it exit from the "grey list", officials familiar with the development said in the federal capital on Sunday.

The global watchdog for curbing terror financing and money laundering will be holding its virtual plenary session from October 21 to 23. Among the agenda items include reviewing Pakistan's progress on the 27-point action plan.

Last week Foreign Minister Shah Mehmood Qureshi telephoned his Saudi, Turkish and Malaysian counterparts to brief them about Pakistan's significant progress to implement the FATF plan of action, an official privy to the move said.

Saudi Arabia, Turkey and Malaysia are members of the 39-member FATF and their support is crucial for Pakistan to avert any adverse decision during the plenary.

The official statement issued after Qureshi's telephonic conversation with his counterparts from these three countries did not mention that FATF was the subject of discussions.

However, the official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told The Express Tribune that one of the purposes of Qureshi's telephonic conversation with top diplomats of these three countries was to seek their support at the upcoming FATF plenary.

Pakistan is unlikely to be placed on the blacklist given that it has the support of at least three countries including China, Malaysia and Turkey to veto any such move. Islamabad needs three votes to avoid getting blacklisted.

But officials noted that Pakistan had been making efforts to ensure that it is removed from "grey list" and for that it needs the support of 12 countries out of 39 FATF members.

Pakistan approached the friendly countries including Saudi Arabia to inform them that Islamabad's case needed to be reviewed objectively, the official said.

"We are telling our friends that Pakistan's progress on the 27-point action plan needs an acknowledgement," the official added.

Pakistan was placed on the grey list in June 2018 for failing to take adequate measures against money laundering and terror financing. It was then given a 27-point action plan with a warning that failing to implement it would lead to its blacklisting.

The official observed that Pakistan fully complied with or made significant progress on at least 21 points.

When asked, the official refused to speculate the outcome of FATF plenary but was confident that Pakistan would not be placed on the blacklist.

While it is relatively easy to conclude that Pakistan will not be blacklisted, it is unclear if FATF would remove the country from its grey list.

To garner the support of 12 member countries, Pakistan needs the support of major players such as the United States.

The officials maintained that Pakistan had been in touch with the US on the issue and that the American authorities acknowledged Islamabad’s progress but were yet to commit to support its case.

The US authorities, contrary to the perception that FATF was being used as political tool against Pakistan, insisted that Washington had no control over the FATF process as all members took decisions independently.

Observers, however, believe that the US support for Pakistan would help strengthen its case at the FATF.