ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s federal cabinet has approved the draft of a financial agreement to be signed with the United Arab Emirates next month, Pakistani officials said on Wednesday, part of a renewed effort to counter money-laundering and terrorism financing.
Last June, the global watchdog Financial Action Task Force placed Pakistan on a grey-list of countries with inadequate money laundering and terror financing controls. The country now has until September to implement a ten-point action plan or face being downgraded to a blacklist, making it infinitely harder for its government to access international markets at a time when the economy is stumbling.
“An information exchange agreement is to be signed between Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit and the Financial Intelligence Unit of the UAE,” said Muneer Ahmad, the director of Pakistan’s Financial Monitoring Unit, adding that the deal would help Pakistan seek information from UAE’s financial departments about money-laundering and other suspicious financial transactions from Pakistan.
“The cabinet has accorded approval to the agreement, but it will take some time before it is signed,” Ahmad said.
Pakistan’s Information Minister Fawad Chaudhry said the agreement was expected to be signed next month and would “help us trace Pakistanis who have illegally transferred money to the UAE and invested in real estate there.” He said the agreement would also facilitate holding “joint investigations” of money laundering and terrorism financing cases.
According to the Dubai Land Department, Pakistanis are among the top ten investors in Dubai’s property sector. Much of the money, according to government officials, is remitted to the UAE through illegal means.
Shahid Assad, a former member of the Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) who has been part of investigations of offshore assets of Pakistanis, said the bilateral information exchange treaty with the UAE would help expedite the sharing of information to counter money-laundering.
“Pakistan has received information of over 100,000 citizens who have invested in different countries, including the UAE, through the platform of the OECD [Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development],” Assad said.
In February, the FATF watchdog said Pakistan had made only “limited progress” on curbing money laundering and terrorism financing, failing to show a proper understanding of the risks posed by Islamic State, Al Qaeda and others.
Pakistan to sign illegal money transactions agreement with UAE in May
Pakistan to sign illegal money transactions agreement with UAE in May
- Agreement will allow joint investigations, facilitate Pakistan to seek information from UAE
- Pakistanis are among top ten investors in real estate sector, claims Dubai Land Department
Pakistan’s Mahnoor Omer named among TIME’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026
- Omer moved a Pakistani court against the so-called ‘period tax’ in Sept. 2025 which has since sparked a national debate
- Taxes on sanitary pads in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to retail price, UNICEF says only around 12 percent women use such products
ISLAMABAD: Pakistani women’s rights activist Mahnoor Omer, who fought against taxes on menstrual products, has been named among the TIME magazine’s ‘Women of the Year’ for 2026.
Omer’s efforts have been recognized alongside 16 activists, artists, athletes and businesswomen in the TIME’s Women of the Year 2026 list, including Olympic gold medalist Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone and Oscar-nominated filmmaker Chloe Zhao.
Dissatisfied with the efforts to educate Pakistani girls about sexual violence, Omer founded the Noor Foundation at the age of 14 and held her own workshops with village girls about everything from climate change to menstruation, according to the TIME magazine.
Two years later, a conversation with a domestic worker about the price of pads made her realize that not everyone could afford these essentials. She moved a court against the so-called “period tax” in Sept. 2025 and the case has sparked a national debate on the subject, considered a taboo by many in Pakistan, since its first hearing late last year.
“A decade and one law degree after her interest in activism was sparked, Omer, now 25, is putting her passion and expertise to work in the name of gender equity,” TIME wrote about Omer on its website.
Taxes imposed on sanitary products in Pakistan can add up to 40 percent to the retail price. UNICEF estimates just 12 percent of women in the country use commercially produced pads or tampons. The alternative, using cloth, risks health impacts including rashes and infections, and can make it impossible for girls to attend school while menstruating.
Omer’s suit, which awaits the government response, has sparked a national discussion. She says she spoke about menstruation to her father and male cousins, who thanked her for standing up for their daughters.
The 25-year-old, who is currently enrolled in a master’s degree in gender, peace, and security at the London School of Economics, sees this case as just the first of many.
“I’m not free until every woman is free,” she was quoted as saying by TIME. “I want to leave no stones unturned in terms of what I can do with the next few decades, as a lawyer for the women in my country and gender minorities in general.”
