The Financial Action Task Force (FATF) is currently holding its plenary session in Paris where Pakistan’s case shall be reviewed for potential removal from the grey list which resulted in specific restrictions on its banking sector in the last three years. While blame-game is fruitless, the fact remains that a lethargic attitude on part of policymakers in the past caused Pakistan’s placement on the list in June 2018. It was notably the second time the country had to bear this in the last decade. Nevertheless, the PTI government should be given full credit for keeping up with the technical requirements in the past two years which has now completed 26 of the 27 points for containing money laundering and terror financing. While there were some shortcomings highlighted by FATF’s Asia Pacific Group (APG) in its last report, Pakistan has remained largely compliant on 31 out of 40 recommendations. It signifies the importance given by the Foreign Office and the Ministry of Finance in regulating and focusing on the technical aspects for long-term benefits. However, Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi’s cautious approach is notable given how the FATF has remained a political tool to a certain extent when some countries who do not even meet set conditions aren’t on the grey list. The Indian government, its media and foreign intelligence agency R&AW tried to strong-arm Pakistan through various means including sophisticated disinformation campaigns that were previously highlighted by EU Disinfo Lab. Recently, paid protesters and planted saboteurs in the form of activists were also utilised in Paris and Geneva for discrediting Islamabad. It shows the desperation on part of New Delhi to discredit Islamabad on international forums. While there had been a minor hiccup in bilateral relations between France and Pakistan in the recent past, it should not deter FATF from making a decision based on merit. Ideally speaking, Islamabad should be out of the grey list but in case it doesn’t, it would imply that politics prevailed which would surely be a grave injustice. *