FM Bilawal Termed Completion Of FATF Action Plans Result Of Joint National Efforts

Foreign Affairs Minister Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said the successful completion of the action plan of Pakistan which is laid out by the Financial Action Task Force is the result of concrete national efforts, according to the Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement.

According to Foreign Office FM Bilawal stated that we welcome the unanimous acknowledgment of FATF for completion by Pakistan of its Action Plans 2018 and 2021. And we would congratulate the FATF team of Pakistan for its dedicated efforts and hard work which led to the successful completion of both FATF Action Plans technical requirements.

The FM Bilawal stated that it was the result of concrete national efforts and complete harmony of interests by its stakeholders. He further said it is a welcome development, referring to the FATF announcement in Berlin from June 14-17 of granting an onsite visit to Pakistan.

About Combating the Financing of Terrorism measures and Anti Money Laundering that the task force assesses, the FM Bilawal stated that enhancing the CFT/AML regime's effectiveness is reflecting the remarkable progress that Pakistan has made.

PTI chairman and former prime minister Imran Khan have also credited his government for this outcome in his tweets, lauding Hammad Azhar's efforts who in his media briefing informed that the final documents for review had been submitted by Pakistan in April during the PTI government.

PTI leader Shireen Mazari separately lashed out at the coalition government for an attempt of taking credit for this positive outcome. She wrote on Twitter that, FATF removal for the period under consideration is March 21, 22 due to concrete legal actions and not on diplomatic skills. All the required legislation was done by the PTI government which was opposed by PML-N and PPP in the national assembly and it was the PML-N government who got us on the Grey List.

Meantime, PM Shehbaz Sharif appreciated the Foreign Affairs Minister Hina Rabbani Khar and the Foreign Ministry team member performance, who has represented Pakistan at the meeting.

The day after the announcement of FATF, Minister of Foreign Affairs Khar in a media briefing emphasized that it is going to be a cross-government effort. She stated that she really wants to discuss it as it is an effort by the state of Pakistan, governments will change but I hope efforts and consensus of Pakistan on this will continue in stride.

The core cell which was established in the GHQ was also appreciated by the prime minister for its efforts in the successful completion of the watchdog’s items list of the anti-money laundering. He stated that I applaud the military and civil leadership who worked with the core cell.

The ISPR shared a message by the army chief, stating that AML/CFT action plans completion by Pakistan is a big achievement which is a monumental effort in making a way for whitelisting. The core cell at GHQ which led the national effort and the civil-military team synergized implementation of the action plan made Pakistan proud.