ISLAMABAD: The US has said it “recognizes and supports” Pakistan’s continued efforts to meet the requirements of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) and acknowledged that Islamabad had made “significant progress” on the international watchdog’s action plan.
US State Department spokesperson Ned Price made these remarks during a press briefing on Monday while answering a question about Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood’s statement that India was ‘politicizing’ the FATF platform to ensure that Pakistan remained on the watchdog’s increased monitoring list, also known as the grey list. Pakistan has been on the list since 2018.
FATF announced on June 25 that Pakistan would continue to remain on the watchdog’s increased monitoring list till it addressed the single remaining item on the original action plan agreed to in June 2018 as well as all items on a parallel action plan handed out by the watchdog’s regional partner — the Asia Pacific Group — in 2019.
“Well, you’re referring to Pakistan’s obligations under the Financial Action Task Force, and we do recognize, and we support Pakistan’s continued efforts to satisfy those obligations. Pakistan has made significant progress on its first action plan with 26 of 27 action items largely addressed,” Price said.
He added that the US would “encourage Pakistan to continue working with the FATF and the international community to swiftly complete the remaining action item[s] by demonstrating that terrorism financing, investigations, and prosecutions target senior leaders and commanders of UN-designated groups.”
“We do further encourage Pakistan to expeditiously implement its new second action plan,” Price said.
The statement came a day after the Hindustan Times quoted India’s Minister for External Affairs S Jaishankar as saying the Indian government had ensured that Pakistan remained on the FATF’s grey list of countries with inadequate money laundering and terror funding controls.
“Due to us, Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept in the grey list,” Jaishankar said while addressing a virtual training program on foreign policy for BJP leaders.
Reacting to the remarks, Pakistan’s Foreign Office (FO) issued a statement on Monday, saying the Indian foreign minister’s statement had vindicated Pakistan’s long standing stance on “India’s negative role” at the global financial watchdog.
“Pakistan has always been highlighting to the international community the politicization of FATF and undermining of its processes by India,” the foreign office said. “The recent Indian statement is just further corroboration of its continued efforts to use an important technical forum for its narrow political designs against Pakistan.”
