President Alvi upbeat about FATF grey list exit

President Arif Alvi on Saturday said Pakistan was getting stronger on the basis of steady improvement in its economy and social indicators and emphasised the need for restoring the perception of the country as a vibrant and moderate society.

Addressing the third Financial Crime Summit here, Alvi stressed that the ‘Good Brand Pakistan’ had to be projected as the country came out of the polarisation. “The country’s impression was tarnished by the enemies and we have to restore it through concerted and collective efforts,” he said. The event titled ‘Pakistan’s Regtech – Shoulder to Shoulder with the Government’s Vision of Addressing Terrorist Financing and Financial Crime,” was jointly organised by different private sector financial entities, and attended by the representatives of concerned public sector institutions.

President Alvi mentioned that Pakistan had been able to comply with 24 of the 27 Financial Action Task Force (FATF) conditions, which are prerequisite for coming out of the global financial watchdog’s grey list. About the steps taken by the government to address the issue of financial crime and related challenges, he said, no country could afford to buckle down before this menace and required strong institutions for the benefit of its people. “With a series of corrective initiatives at macroeconomic level, Pakistan has been able to put the economy in growth mode,” he said. Poverty, identified as a root-cause of this menace, is taken head-on by the government,” he added.

“Ehsaas Programme is an example. There is not a single complaint of any misappropriation in Rs200 billion-plus disbursement,” Alvi said. “The government is encouraging women to be truly empowered,” he added. On the occasion State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) Governor Dr Reza Baqir, while dilating on the Presidential Initiative for Artificial Intelligence and Cloud Computing, said a marked growth could be registered in the digital financial services sector in a considerable short span of time. Dr Baqir said the total volume of e-banking grew by 24%, while its total value registered a growth of 22% over the corresponding period in 2019.

The mobile transactions for banking purposes witnessed a phenomenal growth of 147% while internet portal during same period was up by 67%, he added. The SBP governor said that the central bank had not only embraced digitisation but was also promoting it on efficient lines with equal attention towards 7-9 million strong population of the overseas Pakistanis. “Digital financial service revolution is among us and will continue,” said Dr Baqir. He also referred to recently launched programme called “Rast” – a faster payment system scheme that not only benefited the clients or users but also is an efficient tool in the country’s fight against corruption.

Dr Baqir agreed that there were a series of challenges for the banks and other institutions concerned for which the central bank was actively engaged in providing necessary guidelines, besides facilitating the capacity building of the bankers. He also emphasised the importance of an appropriate balance so that the fight against the financial crimes might not affect the innocent people due to confusion in terms of similarities in their identification – names etc – with that of a suspected criminal