Pakistan fulfills another FATF condition, makes currency declaration mandatory for air travelers

Pakistani officials take part in a rehearsal by the airport officials at the newly built Islamabad International Airport ahead of its official opening on April 26, 2018. (AFP/File)
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Updated 17 August 2022
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Pakistan fulfills another FATF condition, makes currency declaration mandatory for air travelers

  • No passenger will be able to board a flight or leave the airport without submitting the declaration form
  • The global financial watchdog praised Pakistan for implementing its recommendations in its last meeting

ISLAMABAD: The Civil Aviation Authority (CAA) of Pakistan has made it mandatory for all incoming and outgoing passengers to fill out a currency declaration form, said an official statement on Tuesday, to meet yet another requirement of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).
Pakistan has been on the international watchdog’s “grey list” of countries since 2018 due to inadequate controls over money laundering and terrorism financing.
However, the country moved closer to exiting the list in recent months after implementing FATF recommendations to strengthen its financial system.
The Paris-based international watchdog also praised Pakistani officials for making substantial progress while saying its team would soon carry out an onsite visit of the country.
The CAA notification on Tuesday said no passenger would be allowed to board a flight or leave the airport without submitting the declaration.
“For inbound flights, airlines are required to ensure in-flight announcement by the flight crew for every inbound flight for submission of subject declaration wherein the passengers will mention the currency under the regulatory requirement of FATF,” the notification informed.
“The said declaration will be deposited at the customs counter before the immigration desk at international arrival,” it added.
The CAA said airline staff and travel agents should provide a copy of the declaration form to all potential passengers who intend to be on an outbound flight while booking their tickets.
“At check-in counters, airlines are directed to issue boarding pass only once the passenger has deposited the declaration with the them,” the notification added.


Islamabad hits back after Indian minister blames Pakistan army for ‘ideological hostility’

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Islamabad hits back after Indian minister blames Pakistan army for ‘ideological hostility’

  • Jaishankar tells a public forum most of India’s problems with Islamabad stem from Pakistan’s military establishment
  • Pakistan condemns the remarks, accusing India of waging a propaganda drive to deflect from its destabilizing actions

ISLAMABAD: Pakistan accused India on Sunday of running a propaganda campaign to malign its state institutions, a day after Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar attributed what he described as Pakistan’s “ideological hostility” toward New Delhi to the country’s powerful army.

Addressing a public forum in New Delhi, Jaishankar said most of India’s problems with Pakistan stemmed from its military establishment, which he argued had cultivated and sustained an entrenched animosity toward India.

His remarks came months after a brief but intense military confrontation between the nuclear-armed neighbors, during which both sides exchanged artillery and missile fire and deployed drones and fighter jets.

Responding to the comments, Pakistan’s Foreign Office spokesperson Tahir Andrabi called them “highly inflammatory, baseless and irresponsible.”

“Pakistan is a responsible state and its all institutions, including armed forces, are a pillar of national security, dedicated to safeguarding the sovereignty and territorial integrity of the country,” Andrabi said in a statement. “The May 2025 conflict vividly demonstrated Pakistan armed forces’ professionalism as well as their resolve to defend the motherland and the people of Pakistan against any Indian aggression in a befitting, effective yet responsible manner.”

“The attempts by Indian leadership to defame Pakistan’s state institutions and its leadership are a part of a propaganda campaign designed to distract attention from India’s destabilising actions in the region and beyond as well as state-sponsored terrorism in Pakistan,” he said, adding that such “incendiary rhetoric” showed the extent of India’s disregard for regional peace and stability.

Andrabi said that rather than making “misleading remarks about the armed forces of Pakistan,” India should confront the “fascist and revisionist Hindutva ideology that has unleashed a reign of mob justice, lynchings, arbitrary detentions and demolition of properties and places of worship.”

He warned that the Indian state and its leadership had become hostage to “this terror in the name of religion.”

India and Pakistan have fought three wars since independence in 1947. They have also engaged in countless border skirmishes and major military standoffs, including the 1999 Kargil conflict.

The four-day conflict in May 2025 ended with a US-brokered ceasefire, after Washington said both sides had expressed willingness to pursue dialogue.

Pakistan said it was ready to discuss all outstanding issues, but India declined talks.

 

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