Pakistan has been given a three-month reprieve by a global watchdog over a U.S.-led motion to put the country on a terrorist financing watch-list, Pakistan’s Foreign Minister Khawaja Asif said late on Tuesday.
Pakistan has been scrambling in recent months to avoid being added to a list of countries deemed non-compliant with anti-money laundering and terrorist financing regulations by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF). The group’s member-states have been meeting this week in Paris, where it was expected that they would decide on a U.S. motion, backed by Britain, France and Germany, to have Pakistan added to the so-called “grey list”.
Mr. Asif, who is currently on a visit to Russia, tweeted late on Tuesday that Pakistan’s “efforts have paid (off)” during a February 20 meeting on the U.S.-led motion, suggesting that there was “no consensus for nominating Pakistan”. He also suggested that the meeting proposed a “three months pause” and asked for the Asia Pacific Group, which is part of FATF, to consider “another report in June”.
U.S. doesn’t confirm it
A U.S. State Department official could not confirm that the FATF has deferred action for three months, pointing out that the organisation’s deliberations are confidential. The international community continues to have concerns about deficiencies in Pakistan’s counterterrorism financing system, said the official.
Two other Pakistani officials confirmed that Pakistan had received a reprieve of three months.
