According to FATF President Dr Marcus Pleyer, Pakistan will be removed from the FATF’s grey list if it successfully passes the on-site visit scheduled to take place later this year (published news, 17/06/22). In retrospect, Pakistan was actually placed on the FATF grey list (which essentially implies an increased monitoring list) in June 2018 as a result of the FATF’s decision arrived at in February of that year.

It is a proud moment for Pakistan that we have essentially secured compliance approval on all 34 points of the two action plans that had been imposed upon us.

There are two important takeaways from this FATF episode which come to my mind. One, the various political parties, the bureaucracy, and the administrative circles, set aside all their political and other differences to help the nation’s compliance; perhaps, equally important or more important is the fundamental key role played by the present COAS and his cell in the army secretariat to co-ordinate the nation’s efforts towards this end. This coordination and co-operation must continue onwards for the sake of Pakistan. If we can co-operate and co-ordinate vis.a.vis. FATF then we can do it in our remaining economic/financial/governance issues as well, InshAllah.

Two, we must address the points and factors which contributed to our placement on the FATF’s grey list in the first place; we must resolve to never again allow ourselves or our demeanours to stoop so low as to fall in the FATF’s displeased nation-state category for any length of the term.

ABBAS R. SIDDIQI,

Lahore.