Pakistan must take strict measures, including action against banned outfits by May, to avoid economic sanctions over the non-implementation of Financial Action Task Force (FATF) recommendations, the finance secretary has warned.
Last year, the Paris-based FATF, an international terror financing watchdog, finalised a report with 40 recommendations for de-listing Islamabad from its ‘grey list’. Pakistan was placed on the list for failing to curb anti-terror financing.
Arif Ahmed Khan was talking to reporters after attending a meeting of a sub-committee of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Tuesday. Dawn reported that he said “the country had to proceed against the banned outfits in the light of FATF recommendations”.
Khan expressed apprehensions that Pakistan might face economic sanctions if the FATF recommendations were ignored and not implemented. The Finance Secretary said Pakistan had to take strict measures to implement the FATF recommendations.
The International Cooperation Review Group of FATF that reviewed Pakistan’s action plan in recent meetings was not satisfied with the progress on milestones set for January 2019.