When in June last, the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) slapped a strong warning on Pakistan for faltering on the January deadline, the government should have then taken effective measures to comply with the terms and come out of the grey list at the earliest. It is August now, and after the FATF regional affiliate Asia-Pacific Group (AGP) downgraded Pakistan to the ‘enhanced follow-up category’ for its failure to meet deadlines, Prime Minister Imran Khan has finally set up a 2-member coordination committee to oversee the full execution of FATF tasks till Dec1. Placing Pakistan under tough scrutiny is a very serious warning. It sent India’s rumor mill into overdrive, much to the pleasure of their public, alleging that Pakistan had been ‘blacklisted’. The news proved to be fake but its impact was telling: the Pakistan Stock Exchange shed 534 points within hours. The government should have quelled the rumours as swiftly as possible but it was slow to respond to the propaganda. More importantly, our government needs to address FATF concerns; something it has been unable to do since last August. Three groups are monitoring Pakistan’s progress – the APG, the United States and the FATF core group. The government needs to come clean on FATF proceedings. After every meeting, the nation is told that significant progress has been made and very soon the country will be out of the grey list. Just like we were told progress had been made on 10 out of 27 demands, whereas India reported that Pakistan met only one condition. Transparency on FATF matters will help the government earn public confidence and achieve its goals. The formation of the high-powered committee, led by Minister for Economic Affairs Division Hammad Azhar, has members from finance, foreign affairs and interior ministries besides institutions checking money laundering and terror financing. The most notable thing in the committee is the inclusion of three senior officials from the General Headquarters. Will the high-powered committee be up to the task? In recent months, Pakistan has taken anti-money laundering and countering the financing of terrorism measures to meet targets set by FATF to check financial crimes. The committee must ensure compliance and meet FATF concerns by October when progress is going to be next reviewed. The eradication of terror financing and other financial crimes would benefit Pakistan in the long run. *