ISLAMABAD: A global money laundering and terror financing watchdog announced on Friday it would continue to keep Pakistan on its increased monitoring list of countries, adding it would and work with the administration in Islamabad to remove any strategic deficiencies from the country's financial system.
"Pakistani government has made substantial progress in making its counter-terrorist financing system stronger and more effective," said Financial Action Task Force (FATF) President Dr. Marcus Pleyer while addressing a news conference through a video link.
"It has largely addressed 26 out of 27 items on the action plan it first committed to in 2018," he continued. "That action plan focused on terrorist financing issues. However, one key action item still needs to be completed which concerns the investigation and prosecution of senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups."
The FATF placed Pakistan on its "grey list" in 2018 and devised a 27-step action plan for implementation.
Pakistan's foreign minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi recently claimed that the global financial watchdog had "no justification" to keep his country on the grey list after its recent progress.
However, Pleyer also mentioned a parallel evaluation and improvement process related to Pakistan's financial system where the country was "failing."
"In addition to this [27-point action plan], a separate process has been taking place over the past few years," he said in his statement. "Back in 2019, the FATF regional partner, the APG [or] the Asia Pacific Group, identified a number of serious issues during its assessment of Pakistan's entire anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing system. Since then, Pakistan has made improvements. This includes clear effort to raise awareness in the private sector to Pakistan's money laundering risks."
"Pakistan is still failing to effectively implement the global FATF standards across a number of areas," Pleyer continued. "This means risks of money laundering remain high which in turn can fuel corruption and organized crime."
He added this was also the reason behind his organization's decision to continue to work with Pakistan "in areas that still need to be improved" and mostly related to money laundering risks.
"This includes increasing the number of investigations and prosecutions and making sure that law enforcement agencies cooperate internationally to trace, freeze and confiscate assets," he said.
Pleyer thanked the Pakistani authorities for their "continuous strong commitment to this process."
Later, a senior member of Pakistan's federal cabinet who has been working with the FATF told a news briefing in Islamabad that his country would fully implement the 27-point action plan before focusing on money laundering risks.
"The previous [FATF] action plan was extremely challenging and difficult since Pakistan was declared a high-risk country in terror financing which led to an increased compliance threshold," Hammad Azhar said. "The new [seven-point] action plan on money laundering is relatively less challenging because we are declared a low-risk country in the area."
He added that the government would implement the first action plan "in the next three to four months" before taking care of the other set of recommendations related to money laundering "within 12 months."
"There is no danger of blacklisting now," he said. "In fact, the whole [FATF] debate is now revolving around when Pakistan will be whitelisted."
Despite meeting 26 of 27-step action plan, FATF keeps Pakistan on grey list
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Despite meeting 26 of 27-step action plan, FATF keeps Pakistan on grey list
- The Financial Action Task Force placed the South Asian country on its 'grey list' due to inadequate money laundering and terror financing controls
- The FATF president says Pakistan needs to investigate and prosecute 'senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated terror groups'
X working with Pakistan to ‘understand concerns’ over ban
- X has been rarely accessible since Feb. 17, when jailed ex-PM Khan’s party called for protests over poll results
- Interior Ministry said X was blocked on security grounds, according to report submitted to Islamabad High Court
ISLAMABAD: Social media platform X said Thursday it would work with Pakistan’s government “to understand its concerns” after authorities insisted an ongoing two-month ban was based on security grounds.
The platform, formerly known as Twitter, has been rarely accessible since February 17, when jailed former prime minister Imran Khan’s party called for protests following a government official’s admission of vote manipulation in the February election.
“We continue to work with the Pakistani Government to understand their concerns,” X’s Global Government Affairs team posted, in their first comments since the site was disrupted.
The Interior Ministry on Wednesday said X was blocked on security grounds, according to a report submitted to the Islamabad High Court where one of several challenges to the ban is being heard.
On the same day, the Sindh High Court ordered the government to restore access to social media platform X within a week.
“The Sindh High Court has given the government one week to withdraw the letter, failing which, on the next date, they will pass appropriate orders,” Moiz Jaaferi, a lawyer challenging the ban, told AFP.
The court’s full decision is expected to be published this week.
Both the government and the Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) had for weeks refused to comment on the outages.
“It is the sole prerogative and domain of the federal government to decide what falls within the preview of terms of ‘defense’ or ‘security’ of Pakistan and what steps are necessary to be taken to safeguard National Security,” said the interior ministry’s report, submitted by senior official Khurram Agha.
The interior ministry suggested intelligence agencies were behind the order.
The closure of a social media service “when there is request from any security or intelligence agency” is “well within the scope of provisions of the PTA act,” the report said.
Digital rights activists, however, said it was designed to quash dissent after February 8 polls that were fraught with claims of rigging.
Access to X has been sporadic, occasionally available for short cycles based on the Internet service provider, forcing users to use virtual private networks.
Mobile services were cut across Pakistan on election day, with the interior ministry also citing security reasons.
It was followed by a long delay in issuing voting results, giving rise to allegations of tampering.
Khan’s opposition party had already faced heavy censorship in the weeks before the election, banned from television channels and from holding rallies, forcing its campaign online.
Despite the crackdown, his party won the most seats but was kept from power by a coalition of rival parties that had the backing of the military.
33 killed, 46 injured in recent torrential rains in northwest Pakistan
- Pakistan has received heavy rains in last three weeks that have triggered landslides, flash floods in several areas
- Authorities have warned of another spell of heavy rains in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province from April 17 till April 21
ISLAMABAD: At least 33 people have been killed and another 46 injured in various rain-related incidents in Pakistan’s northwestern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) province in the last six days, the Provincial Disaster Management Authority (PDMA) said on Thursday.
The rains that began last Friday have completely destroyed 336 houses and partially damaged another 1,606 in different districts across the province, according to the PDMA.
The incidents occurred in Khyber, Upper and Lower Dir, Upper and Lower Chitral, Swat, Bajaur, Shangla, Karak, Tank, Mardan, Peshawar, Charsadda, Hangu, Battagram, Dera Ismail Khan and other districts.
“The deceased include 17 children, eight men, eight women, while the injured included 32 men, six women and eight children,” the PDMA said in its daily situation report on Thursday.
On Wednesday, the authority warned of another spell of heavy rains in the province from April 17 till April 21, which could trigger landslides and flash floods.
“The district administrations should take proactive and immediate measures before the second spell of the rains begins … and ensure the availability of small and large machinery,” it added.
The PDMA said it had issued Rs50 million to the administration of 12 affected districts for financial assistance to families of those who lost their lives in the recent rains.
“Rs80.1 million have been released by the PDMA since March 29 to the administration of various districts to deal with the emergency situation,” the authority added.
Pakistan has received heavy rains in the last three weeks that have triggered landslides and flash floods in several parts of the South Asian country.
The eastern province of Punjab has reported 21 lighting- and roof collapse-related deaths, while Balochistan, in the country’s southwest, reported 10 deaths as authorities declared a state of emergency following flash floods.
In 2022, downpours swelled rivers and at one point flooded a third of Pakistan, killing 1,739 people. The floods also caused $30 billion in damages, from which Pakistan is still trying to rebuild. Balochistan saw rainfall at 590 percent above average that year, while Karachi saw 726 percent more rainfall than usual.
Pakistan’s Lahore hosts 24th edition of Asian Forum’s tech innovation event
- The three-day exhibition is set to fetch nearly $500 million investment from a dozen countries
- These companies participating in the expo include Microsoft, Inbox, Lenovo, HP, NetSol and Dell
ISLAMABAD: Pakistan’s eastern city of Lahore is set to host the 24th edition of Asian Forum’s Information Technology Commerce Network (ITCN) today, on Thursday, Pakistani state media reported.
State Minister for Information Technology Shaza Fatima will be the chief guest, while Digital Cooperation Organization (DCO) Secretary-General Deemah Al-Yahya will be guest of honor on the opening day of summit at Lahore’s Expo Center.
The main sessions include Artificial Intelligence Summit, Global Security Symposium, Gaming and Scholars Roundtable, Investor Summit, Freelancer Summit, Made in Pakistan Roundtable Conference, the state-run Radio Pakistan broadcaster reported.
“In this edition, a delegation of international investors belonging to twelve counties will participate along with an investment of five hundred million dollars,” the report read.
“Over seven hundred stalls will be established and renowned international and national technology companies will participate in this event.”
These companies include Microsoft, Inbox, Red Hat, TP-Link, Lenovo, HP, NetSol, Abacus and Dell, according to the report.
The event is being jointly supported by the Pakistani Ministry of Information Technology and Telecommunication, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority, Special Investment Facilitation Council (SIFC), Pakistan Software Export Board and Pakistan Software Houses Association.
Pakistan wants to re-engage with Middle Eastern banks to boost investment — finance minister
- Statement came during Mohammad Aurangzeb’s meeting with his Emirati counterpart on sidelines of his US visit
- The Pakistani finance minister briefed about priority areas of taxation, energy and privatization of state entities
ISLAMABAD: Finance Minister Muhammad Aurangzeb on Wednesday met with his Emirati counterpart and expressed his country’s desire to re-engage with Middle Eastern banks to boost investment in Pakistan, the Pakistani finance ministry said.
Aurangzeb’s meeting with UAE’s Minister of State for Financial Affairs Mohamed bin Hadi Al Hussaini came on the sidelines of his visit to the United States to meet International Monetary Fund (IMF) and World Bank officials.
The Pakistani finance minister acknowledged long-standing brotherly ties between Pakistan and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and appreciated the Gulf country’s support to help Pakistan deal with its economic challenges.
“He highlighted Pakistan’s firm resolve to address economic challenges and create a conducive environment for sustainable growth and investment,” the Pakistani finance ministry said in a statement.
“He also expressed Pakistan’s keen interest to re-engage with Middle Eastern Banks to revive their interest in potential investment opportunities in the country.”
He said his government intended to continue with reforms initiated under a $3 billion IMF program in priority areas of taxation, energy and privatization of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), according to the statement.
Aurangzeb arrived in Washington on Sunday to participate in spring meetings organized by the IMF and World Bank. His tour is an important one for the South Asian country as the ongoing nine-month, $3 billion loan program with the IMF designed to tackle a balance-of-payments crisis, is set to expire this month.
With the final $1.1 billion tranche of that deal likely to be approved later this month, Pakistan has begun negotiations for a new multi-year IMF loan program worth “billions” of dollars, according to the finance ministry.
Pakistan seeks at least a three-year IMF program and plans to continue with necessary policy reforms to rein in deficits, build up reserves, and manage soaring debt servicing.
On Wednesday, Aurangzeb attended the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Ministers and Governors meeting with the IMF managing director and highlighted geo-economic fragmentation and its impact on Pakistan.
“He thanked IMF, MDBs (multilateral development banks) and its time-tested sincere bilateral partners for their support in helping the country respond to unprecedented challenges,” Aurangzeb’s ministry said in a separate statement.
“He further underscored aggressive reforms including broadening the tax net, privatizing loss making SOEs, expanding social safety net and facilitating the private sector.”
The minister underlined the importance of rechanneling special drawing rights (SDRs), reviewing surcharges policy, and prioritizing the Resilience and Sustainability Trust (RST) in view of climate vulnerabilities.
“The minister called for a more proactive and responsive Global Financial Safety Net to tackle the elevated risks,” the statement read.
“He welcomed the renewed emphasis of the Fund on Capacity Building through Regional Capacity Development Centers (RCDCs).”
During the engagements, Aurangzeb also met with Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) Executive Vice President Hiroshi Matano and appreciated the Agency’s continued support to Pakistan in attracting foreign investments.
“The minister discussed the ongoing economic reforms, investment climate and measures to enhance investor confidence in Pakistan,” his ministry said.
Australia mulls citizenship for Pakistani guard in Sydney mall attack
- The guard, Muhammad Taha, reportedly said he believed he ‘deserved recognition, consideration for citizenship’ after being stabbed
- He was attacked just after fellow Pakistani security guard, Faraz Tahir, one of the six people killed at the Westfield shopping complex
SYDNEY: Australia’s prime minister said Thursday he will consider granting citizenship to a Pakistani security guard wounded in the deadly Sydney shopping center knife attack.
The guard, Muhammad Taha, reportedly said he believed he “deserved recognition and consideration for citizenship” after being stabbed.
In a bedside interview with The Australian, Taha said he was attacked just after fellow Pakistani security guard Faraz Tahir, one of the six people killed at the Westfield shopping complex in Bondi Junction.
Taha has a graduate visa due to expire in less than a month, the paper said.
The guard reportedly noted that Frenchman Damien Guerot, since dubbed “bollard man,” had been offered permanent residency after video shared on social media showed him using a bollard to fend off the attacker, Joel Cauchi.
Asked in a radio interview if the Australian government would entertain Taha’s citizenship request, Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said: “Yes, we certainly will.”
Albanese described the killing of Faraz Tahir as a “tragedy.”
“This other person, Muhammad Taha, he confronted this guy, the perpetrator, Joel Cauchi, on Saturday. And it just shows extraordinary courage,” the prime minister said.
Both men put themselves in danger to protect Australians they did not know, Albanese said.
“That’s the sort of courage that we want to say thank you to, frankly.”
Albanese said Guerot would receive permanent residency, which he had been seeking, on Thursday.
French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday hailed Guerot and his fellow Frenchman Silas Despreaux for trying to stop the mall attacker.
