FATF’s grey list

The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) placed Pakistan on its grey list. Even though the government is happy, the country is still in hot water. The IMF and the World Bank are normally quite reluctant to give loans to countries that are on grey list. Loans that are already in the pipeline can also be stopped. Or, donor agencies may impose more stringent measures. What Pakistan will do by next February to get out of FATF’s grey list is any body’s guess. For a cash-strapped country like Pakistan, more concrete steps are required to show the world that we are no longer a country where terror financing and money laundering is rampant.

Efforts are being made by the government for the last two years to get out of this grey list. Our ministers were quite happy in their press conferences and celebrated the fact that Pakistan avoided the financial watchdog’s blacklist. The only option we have is to concentrate on the economic development of our country.

Cdre (r) Sajjad Ali Shah Bokhari

Islamabad