A regional affiliate of the Financial Acton Task Force (FATF) asked the country to strengthen its implementation of anti-money laundering and combating terror financing measures.
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The regional financial federation Acton Task Force (FATF) has kept Pakistan on the `Enhanced Follow-up 'list and called on the country to intensify its implementation of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism measures.
The FATF Asia Pacific Group on Friday released its second Follow-Up Report (FUR) on the Mutual Survey of Pakistan in line with 40 technical recommendations.
The report states that Pakistan has also been rated 'compliant' in five cases with 15 others 'highly compliant' and the other 'partial compliance,' said Dawn.
The two recommendations in which Pakistan was reduced to ‘non-compliance were 37 and 38 due to“ insufficient progress ”and were related to international aid assistance (MLA) with other countries and freezing and seizure of assets and accounts.
"Pakistan will move from development (accelerating) to improved tracking, and will continue to report to the APG on progress in strengthening its use of anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism (AML / CFT) methods," the APG said. .
It is worth noting that progress comes just a few weeks before the FATF summit - the world governing body in Paris - to determine the status of the gray list in Pakistan.
The 41-member APG in August 2019 reduced Pakistan's position in the "Enhanced Follow-up" category from `` General Compliance '' due to a lack of technology to meet normal overseas financial standards by October 2018.
The APG noted that Pakistan has taken positive steps in implementing the new Mutual Legal Assistance Act 2020 (MLAA) and establishing MLA procedures and timelines.
However, he added, that the "restricted conditions" imposed on the provision of the MLA for the new requirement to inform the subject of any application for restraint or expropriation is a serious shortcoming that prevents Pakistan from maintaining confidentiality and undermining its capacity for immediate action.
Pakistan has been on the gray list of FATF since June 2018.
The International Monetary Fund (FATF), in February this year, kept Pakistan on its "gray list" until June after concluding that Islamabad had failed to address its key issues, in order to fully implement the 27-step watchdog program for Pakistan.
Pakistan's continuation in the 'gray' list means that there will be no respite from trying to access financial resources through the form of investment and assistance from international organizations including the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
Pakistan is facing the daunting task of clearing its name from the FATF gray list. As things stand, Islamabad is finding it difficult to protect terrorists and implement the FATF plan at the same time.
Earlier this year, a Islamabad-based think tank Thabadlab revealed that Pakistan had suffered an economic loss of USD 38 billion as a result of the FATF's decision to place the country three times on its gray list since 2008.
A research paper entitled "Carrying out the cost of global politics - the impact of FATF graying on the Pakistani economy" states that those graying events from 2008 to 2019, could result in total GDP losses worth USD 38 billion.
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