Pak submits initial draft report to FATF ahead of plenary meet

Pakistan has submitted its initial draft report to the joint group of Financial Action Task Force (FATF), showing compliance of the remaining 13 points out of 27 action points pertaining to terror funding, ahead of the plenary meet scheduled for October, The News International reported on Tuesday.

Top official sources said that Pakistan would share its updated version of the progress report to the FATF review group in the first week of September. The first draft was sent to the FATF on August 6.

"A face to face virtual meeting of FATF review group is scheduled to take place from September 14 to 21 where Pakist authorities will be given an opportunity to defend their position with full force," a top official was quoted as saying.

In the FATF plenary meet, it would be decided whether Pakistan will be continued to be kept in the grey list or get promoted or demoted to blacklist after verifying the compliance on the majority of the 27-point action plan, the official said.

Federal Minister for Industries Hammad Azhar, who is also in charge of FATF issues, expressed hope that Pakistan would be declared largely compliant on at least 11 action points. He said Islamabad would have to evaluate simultaneously on account of Mutual Evaluation Report (MER) by Asia Pacific Group (APG), according to The News International.

In June 2018, Pakistan was placed in the grey list by the FATF and has been retained in that category since then, after the global anti-terror financial watchdog lambasted Islamabad over its lacklustre response in curbing terror funding on its soil.

( With inputs from ANI )