Economic Affairs Minister Hammad Azhar, who led the Pakistani delegation during the three-day talks with the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) in Beijing, said on Saturday the government has worked very hard to get the country out of the watchdog’s grey list.
Taking to Twitter, he said, “It is premature to comment/speculate on the decision that FATF members shall take in the plenary in Feb.”
He continued, “Pak Authorities have worked very hard over the months & I feel we have made significant progress in our AML/CFT efforts. We remain committed to sustaining this momentum.”
The minister expressed optimism that that attempts by “certain quarters to politicise the FATF proceedings would be rejected”.
Meanwhile, according to media reports, the FATF has given the government until March 31 to achieve targets set by the watchdog.
A FATF plenary slated for Feb 17 will evaluate implementation on a 27-point action plan for Pakistan.
Previously, Islamabad had sent a 650-page review report to the FATF on January 8 in response to 150 questions raised by the watchdog.
