Daily Times

Minister for Foreign Affairs Shah Mahmood Qureshi Friday said if Pakistan’s case is taken on merit in the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) upcoming meeting in Paris, it will be out of the grey list of the watchdog.

“Pakistan should, in principle, be taken off the grey list as it has made considerable progress on the requirements of the FATF,” the minister told reporters in Multan. He said in the recent FATF meeting in Beijing, “Pakistan presented its point of view. We presented all of the practical steps we have taken in the past 10 months in front of the member nations. And I am delighted to say that everyone appreciated our efforts and said that the progress made in the past 10 months is more than the progress made in the last 10 years.”

He said that all countries – except India – agreed that progress has been made by Pakistan. “India, of course, disagreed. But India has never wanted for Pakistan to be taken off the grey list. In fact, it wants Pakistan to be added to the blacklist,” Qureshi said. “With this response in view, I hope that all the other FATF members will keep the issue from getting politicised in the upcoming February meeting in France,” he said.

“Pakistan’s image is being enhanced with other countries, as is evident through Prime Minister Imran’s various exchanges with world leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos. On the other hand, The Economist, a top international publication has used the word ‘intolerant’ with India’s name in their cover story,” the foreign minister said. “As you can see, on the international front, Pakistan’s image is getting better while questions are being raised about India,” he said, and also mentioned that the United Kingdom’s decision to soften its travel advisory for Pakistan is a huge step forward in making the country a tourist attraction.