26 out of 27 action items addressed: Pakistan to come out of FATF grey list soon, NA told

ISLAMABAD: The government informed the National Assembly on Monday that Pakistan would soon come out of the FATF [Financial Action Task Force] grey list, as it had largely addressed its 26 out of 27 action items.

Responding to a question during the Question Hour, Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan said that Pakistan undertook enormous work to strengthen its anti-money laundering and combating the financing of terrorism regime and addressed the strategic counter-terrorist financing related deficiencies.

He said all 10 action items pertaining to the financial sector and border controls had been addressed. The minister said action items related to the UN designated persons was partially addressed and Pakistan was dealing with the matter as per its own laws.

Ali Muhammad told the National Assembly that the government was not renegotiating terms and conditions with the IMF regarding Extended Fund Facility (EFF) progamme and was moving as per plans. However, the written reply placed in the National Assembly said that constructive discussion are going on with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) on structural reforms, particularly on tax and energy sectors and social spending.

The written reply said Pakistan entered into an Extended Fund Facility (EFF) Programme with the IMF in July 2019. Till date, five reviews have been concluded successfully with around $1.9 billion disbursed to Pakistan.

Regarding change in tariffs, the state minister said it was changed or decided to keep industrial and exports growth. The minister said the Foreign Exchange reserve rose from $16 to $25 billion in the last three years. He said the foreign exchange reserves during the PML-N tenure increased by five billion dollars ($11 billion to $16 billion) from 2013 to 2018. However, the increase in foreign exchange reserves increased by $9 billion to $25 billion in the last three years.

Minister for National Food Security and Research Syed Fakhar Imam rejected the reports that the government was going to impose a ban on export of rice. He said the government imported wheat to build strategic reserves to avert any shortage. At the end of Question Hour, the proceedings of the House were adjourned due to lack of quorum till Tuesday (today). The PPP parliamentarian pointed out a lack of quorum in the House.