The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) on Friday strongly urged Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2020.
“Strongly urge Pakistan to swiftly complete its full action plan by February 2020 otherwise should significant and sustainable progress not be made across the full range of its action plan by next Plenary,” FATF was quoted by newswire ANI.
The terror funding watchdog said that it will take action if Pakistan fails to do it.
“The FATF will take action including urging members to advise their financial institutions to give special attention to business relations/transactions with Pakistan,” FATF added.
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Pakistan was placed on the Grey List by the watchdog in June 2018 and was given 15 months to complete implementation of a 27-point action plan, failing which it be placed in the blacklist along with Iran and North Korea.
It should be noted that if the cash-strapped nation continues to remain in the grey list, it would become very difficult for the Imran Khan government to get financial aid from global money lenders, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank, further making a more precarious situation for its plunging economy.
Representatives from 206 countries and jurisdictions around the world began a meeting for the FATF Week in the French capital earlier this week. Six days of meeting were focused on disrupting financial flows linked to crime and terrorism and discuss ways to contribute to global security.
Meanwhile, China’s stand on Pakistan’s risk of being ‘blacklisted’ will also be taken under consideration as the crucial plenary meeting of the watchdog came following the two-day ‘informal’ meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chinese President Xi Jinping in the coastal town of Mamallapuram in South India.
China currently holds the current FATF presidency and all eyes will be on Beijing that is an all-weather ally of Pakistan.