Foreign Minister, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari has said that he welcomes the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) unanimous acknowledgement of completion by Pakistan of its 2018 and 2021 Action Plans. His remarks were issued in a press release statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs on Sunday.

The statement said that the efforts and hard work by Pakistan’s team are commendable due to which Pakistan was able to successfully complete all technical requirements of both FATF Action Plans.

“The announcement by the FATF plenary of granting an on-site visit to Pakistan is a welcome development,” said the press release. “It reflects the remarkable progress made by Pakistan to enhance the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime.”

The Government of Pakistan is committed to continue this positive trajectory of reforming the financial sector as part of its larger strategic objective of strengthening Pakistan’s economy.

Bilawal said, “I am certain that this good news from FATF will restore confidence in Pakistan’s economy and act as a catalyst for sustained growth and development.”

The statement reiterated the Government of Pakistan’s high level commitment to continue aligning our AML/CFT regime with global standards.

The foreign ministry said, “We look forward to the on-site visit and a successful and early culmination of the process leading to Pakistan’s exit from the grey list.”

The FATF on Friday expressed satisfaction with Pakistan’s performance but the anti-money laundering watchdog stopped short of removing it from its ‘grey list’.

Pakistan was placed on the FATF ‘grey list’ in June 2018 after the country failed to act against terror financing on its soil. Following which, Pakistan made a high-level political commitment to work with the FATF and APG to strengthen its AML/CFT regime and to address its strategic counter-terrorist financing-related deficiencies.