Rashid credits Imran for FATF grey list ‘exit’

AML chief blames ‘imported govt’ for price hike, inflation

ISLAMABAD:

Former interior minister and Awami Muslim League (AML) chief Sheikh Rashid said on Friday the credit of ‘Pakistan’s exit’ from the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) grey list would go to former prime minister Imran Khan, the Pakistan Army and the Interior Ministry.

FATF – an international financial watchdog for combatting money laundering and terrorist financing – earlier today announced kick-starting a process to remove Pakistan from the ‘grey list’ after four years of rigorous monitoring of its efforts to combat terror financing, in a decision that will end the threat of Islamabad being blacklisted.

“At its June 2022 Plenary, the FATF made the initial determination that Pakistan has substantially completed its two action plans, covering 34 items,” according to a statement issued by the.

On-site inspection mission decision was taken by the global body during its June 14-17 plenary meeting held in Berlin, Germany.

It added the initial determination “warrants an on-site visit to verify that the implementation of Pakistan’s AML/CFT reforms has begun and is being sustained, and that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future”.

Also read: FATF ‘kick-starts’ process to remove Pakistan from grey list

In a statement issued today, Rashid said that the Interior Ministry had worked very hard for Pakistan’s departure from the grey list, he congratulated all the subordinate institutions of the ministry for their efforts in this regard.

Commenting on the domestic issues, Rashid said that closure of markets and shops at 7pm would be an ‘economic death knell’ for the shopkeepers, for which the current ‘imported’ government would be responsible.

The former minister pointed out that rupee had depreciated to a level of 210 to a dollar while it was trading at 220 to a dollar in Hawala. He warned that finance minister was about to give ‘another shot’ of price hike to the nation.

Rashid said that the US ambassador had arrived in the country and the Chinese ambassador has left. India, he added, was demolishing the homes of the Muslims, while the government intended to opening trade with it.

In this scenario, Rashid continued, Imran Khan was the only popular leader in the country, while the one-dozen political parties in the ruling coalition had fallen out of the public favour. “Only Imran Khan has touched the hearts and minds of the people,” he said.

These one dozen parties were digging their own political graves, he added. “The current ‘imported government’ is another name of the vested interests. This is a conglomerate of thieves,” he said. “Nawaz Sharif is not coming to Pakistan under a secret deal in London.”