Tag: Marcus Pleyer

  • Pakistan on FATF grey list because of ‘Narendra Modi’s govt’, Pak to take action

    Pakistan on FATF grey list because of ‘Narendra Modi’s govt’, Pak to take action

    Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar admitted that Pakistan is on the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) because of the “efforts of Narendra Modi’s government”.

    Jaishankar, while addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders, said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s personal efforts made on forums like G20 or G7 made nations realise that terrorism is everyone’s problem.”

    “FATF, as all of you know, keep a check on fundings for terrorism and deals with black money supporting terrorism. Due to us, Pakistan is under the lens of FATF and it was kept [on] the grey list. We have been successful in pressurising Pakistan and the fact that Pakistan’s behaviour has changed is because of pressure put by India by various measures. Also terrorists from LeT and Jaish, India’s efforts through UN, have come under sanctions,” Jaishankar reportedly told the BJP leaders, according to The Print.

    The Foreign Office (FO) responded by saying that the Indian foreign minister’s statement that the Modi government had ensured Pakistan remained on the FATF grey list had vindicated Pakistan’s longstanding stance on “India’s negative role” in the global financial watchdog.

    “Pakistan has always been highlighting to the international community the politicisation of FATF and undermining of its processes by India. 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,” read the FO statement.

    “While Pakistan has been sincerely and constructively engaged with FATF during the implementation of the action plan, India has left no stone unturned in casting doubts on Pakistan’s progress through disgraceful means,” said the FO statement.

    “Following the recent confession by [the] Indian government, India’s credentials for assessing Pakistan in FATF as co-chair of the Joint Group or for that matter any other country are subject to questions, which we urge FATF to look into,” the statement said.

    On June 25, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer said Pakistan would remain on the grey list till it addresses 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 (APG) — in 2019.

  • ‘Some powers desire to keep the sword of FATF hanging over Pakistan’: Shah Mahmood Qureshi

    Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi questioned the decision of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) of keeping Pakistan on its “increased monitoring list”, also known as the grey list, after the country completed 26 out of the 27 points under the action plan given by the financial watchdog.

    Qureshi said there was “no room” to keep Pakistan on the grey list after it had implemented nearly the entire action plan, according to a report by Radio Pakistan.

    The foreign minister said it needed to be looked into whether FATF was “being used for political purposes”, adding that “some powers desire to keep the sword of FATF hanging over Pakistan.”

    Qureshi made it clear that whatever steps Pakistan took were in its own interests. He said it is in our interest to stop money laundering and terror financing.

    A day earlier, FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer said Pakistan would remain on the grey list till it addresses 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 (APG) — in 2019.

    “Pakistan has made significant progress and it has largely addressed 26 out of 27 items on the action plan it first committed to in June 2018,” he said at a virtual press conference after the financial watchdog’s five-day plenary meeting.