Minister of State for Finance, Dr. Ayesha Ghous Pasha, has said that Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) team has indicated satisfaction over Pakistan’s actions during the on-site visits.
During a media talk, she said that government is fully optimistic that Pakistan will come out of the FATF grey list as the FATF team has received a positive response from Pakistan. The team’s visit to Pakistan was just a formality, she added.
Dr. Ayesha highlighted that International Monetary Fund (IMF) is strongly against any amnesty scheme. The lender has objected to the amnesty schemes given in the past as well. Therefore, the government has decided not to present any amnesty scheme in the future.
The Minister stated that discussions with Qatar regarding investments in airports and the energy sector are ongoing. She expressed unfamiliarity regarding the sale of Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) shares to Qatar Airways.
A 15-member team of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) came on August 29th for its onsite week-long visit to Pakistan, with the final decision on the country’s grey list status now expected at the global money-laundering watchdog’s next meeting set to take place in Paris in October.
Pakistan has been on the grey list of the FATF since June 2018 for failing to check money laundering, leading to terror financing.
