FO responds to media queries, says FATF team’s Pakistan visit was ‘smooth’ and ‘successful’

“The visit of the FATF team was smooth and successful, while the meetings were held in a constructive atmosphere,” says the FO.
The FO issues the statement in response to media queries following a new story that appeared in the press recently.
He said that Pakistan is looking forward to the logical conclusion of the ongoing evaluation process.

ISLAMABAD: The Ministry of External Affairs (MOFA) on Wednesday responded to media queries regarding the current engagement with Pakistan. Financial Action Task Force (FATF) And clarified that the recent visit of the technical team of the institution to Pakistan for the purpose of interaction with the concerned institutions was carried out in a fruitful manner.

According to a statement issued by the Foreign Office, the visit of the FATF team was “smooth and successful”, while the meetings were held in a “constructive and positive atmosphere”.

The FO’s statement came in response to media queries following a new story in the press about Pakistan’s recent engagement with the Task Force and its progress in the Anti-Money Laundering/Counter Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) domain. Published in

“Following the authorization of an on-site visit by the FATF Plenary in June 2022, a FATF technical team recently visited Pakistan and held detailed discussions with relevant agencies. From our perspective, it was a smooth and successful visit.” ,” the statement read.

The focus of the visit was to reaffirm Pakistan’s high-level commitment and sustainability of reforms in the AML/CFT regime, the ministry said.

The statement added that the report of the FATF on-site team will be discussed at FATF’s International Cooperation Review Group (ICRG) and Plenary meetings, which will be held in Paris in the third week of October 2022. are going to happen

“Pakistan is looking forward to the logical conclusion of the ongoing assessment process,” the FO said.

Referring to Pakistan’s development status, the FO said that FATF’s latest assessment of Pakistan outstrips its findings in previous years.

“As a result of Pakistan’s strong and sustained efforts over the past four years, Pakistan has not only achieved a high level of technical compliance with FATF standards, but has also achieved a high level of effectiveness through the implementation of FATF’s two comprehensive action plans. The statement emphasized that Pakistan is committed to “continue its efforts” in this regard.

“In terms of technical compliance with FATF standards, Pakistan is now rated compliant/largely compliant in 38 out of 40 FATF recommendations, making us one of the world’s most compliant countries,” the ministry said. Adds to high compliance countries.”

The statement added that Pakistan’s completion of both action plans in June 2022 is in fact a recognition by FATF of achieving a high level of compliance with FATF standards.

“Over the past four years, Pakistan’s effectiveness in the AML/CFT regime has increased with all immediate consequences, significantly reducing the risks and dangers of money laundering and terrorist financing,” the Ministry of External Affairs noted. What did