Pakistan has said that achieving the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) targets was a whole-of-nation endeavour, as the global money-laundering watchdog removed the country from its ‘grey list’ after four years.

“Multiple ministries, departments and agencies, both at the federal and provincial levels, contributed to achieving this national objective,” the foreign office said in a statement issued on Friday.

T Raja Kumar, the FATF president, while announcing the decision said that Pakistan has completed a combined 34 items in its action plan. He stressed that Pakistan needed to work with FATF’s regional partner to ensure sustainable progress.

Read: Return of Pakistan in FATF’s whitelist will boost economy: Hina Rabbani Khar

The international money-laundering watchdog put Pakistan on its so-called grey list in June 2018, after Islamabad failed to implement policies aimed at stamping out money laundering and the financing of international terror groups.

The move severely curtailed exchange flows and discouraged foreign direct investment by putting reams of red tape around even the simplest projects.

“The engagement with FATF has led to strategic improvements in Pakistan’s laws and procedures, making its domestic AML/CFT regime more resilient to cope with current and future challenges,” the FO said.

Pakistan thanked the FATF members and the international community for providing “valuable” support during the action plan period.

Read: PM Shehbaz, Bilawal congratulate nation on Pakistan’s removal from FATF

“Pakistan reiterates that it will continue building on this mutually beneficial cooperation to sustain the gains,” it said, adding that the country looked forward to sharing its “expertise, knowledge and experience” with other countries to enhance effectiveness of FATF standards at the global level.

While the move is a boost for the country’s image, it was not expected to have an immediate effect on the economy.

“The decision will help remove uncertainty that currently grips the overall investment climate in the country,” said economist Kaiser Bengali.

He cautioned that high inflation and interest rates would prevent a sudden inflow of cash.

Read: FATF has acknowledged the completion of both action plans: Hina

Pakistan, which has long struggled with low-level militancy within its borders, has faced scrutiny over its ability to combat illicit financing, including to militant organisations.

US regulators in 2017 and 2022 slapped major fines on separate Pakistani banks for failing to heed concerns over possible terrorist financing and money laundering.

But in June, former FATF president Marcus Pleyer said Pakistan had demonstrated that it was pursuing terrorist financing investigations and prosecutions against senior leaders of UN-designated terror groups and money laundering investigations.

Friday’s decision by FATF comes after Pakistan in recent years filed terror financing changes against Jamaatud Dawa leader Hafiz Saeed and others. Saeed was found guilty of multiple breaches in two cases

Talat Masood, a former general and now political analyst, told AFP that doubts about security affected confidence in Pakistan.

“This decision will improve our image and establish the fact that Pakistan is not supporting any terrorist organisations and is a safe destination for foreign investments,” Masood said.