Some lobbies might push Pakistan to blacklist: Asad Umar
Asad Umar chaired meeting of National Assembly's Standing Committee for Finance.
ISLAMABAD (Dunya News) - Chairman of National Assembly’s Standing Committee for Finance Asad Umar has said that Pakistan is acting upon targets set by Financial Action Task Force (FATF) but it is feared that some lobbies might push Pakistan to blacklist.
While chairing the meeting of National Assembly Standing Committee for Finance, former finance minister said that FATF’s evaluation of Pakistan is affected by political elements.
“Pakistan is in grey list for now but it is feared that it might be added in black list while even Afghanistan is not in black list,” said the PTI leader.
Asad Umar further stated that FATF wants Pakistan to provide details of how many people have been arrested and how many people have been declared culprits.
“Cooperation between Law Enforcement Agencies (LEAs) and regulatory bodies has improved,” said former finance minister adding that FATF has put forward new demands after legislation was improved.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar on the occasion apprised NA standing committee of progress made by Pakistan on targets set by FATF. He said that Pakistan lags behind in five out of 27 FATF targets which include enforcement of money-laundering law, action against currency smugglers and assets of banned outfits.
Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) Chairman Shabbar Zaidi told the meeting that money wasn’t sent abroad by illegal means. He said that anyone could purchase dollars and send them abroad before 2018. “We are documenting the economy,” said the FBR chief adding that CNIC condition for traders is not cancelled but delayed.
