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Citing sources, Babar Bakht Qureshi, an officer from the Police Group, has been made director of the FATF task force in the FIA, while other officials were picked from different government departments.
The new unit will have offices in the federal and provincial capitals as well as in important cities like Multan, Faisalabad, Sukkur and Gilgit-Baltistan. Moreover, all government institutions are told to cooperate with the unit in sharing the relevant information.
Pakistan has been on the global money laundering watchdog’s radar since June 2018, when it was placed on a grey list for terrorist financing and money laundering risks after an assessment of the country’s financial system and security mechanism.
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The FATF has asked Pakistan to improve its counter-terror financing operations till October in line with an internationally agreed action plan or face actions against it.
It expressed concerned that Pakistan had failed to complete the action plan first by a January deadline and then again by a May deadline.
“The FATF strongly urges Pakistan to swiftly complete its action plan by October 2019 when the last set of action plan items are set to expire,” the FATF said in a statement.
“Otherwise, the FATF will decide the next step at that time for insufficient progress,” it added.