PM Shehbaz congratulates army chief after Pakistan completes FATF’s action plans

• Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif holds call with COAS Qamar Javed Bajwa.
• PM lauds civil, military leadership that worked in GHQ’s “core cell”.
• PM appreciates Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Finance Minister Miftah Ismail.

ISLAMABAD: Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif Saturday congratulated Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa after Pakistan completed the Financial Action Task Force’s (FATF) action plans.

The anti-money laundering watchdog announced Friday that Pakistan has “substantially completed its two action plans” — of the total 34 items on the list — and would be removed from the grey list after it passes the on-site visit.

During a telephonic conversation, the prime minister appreciated the “core cell” established in the General Headquarters (GHQ) for its efforts in the completion of the anti-money laundering watchdog’s item list.

"I applaud the civil and military leadership that worked with the core cell,” the prime minister said.

In its statement released after the four-day plenary in Berlin, the watchdog acknowledged that the necessary political commitment remains in place to sustain implementation and improvement in the future.

The army chief, a day earlier, had termed the FATF’s announcement a “great achievement” for Pakistan.

“Completion of FATF AML/CFT (anti-money laundering/combating the financing of terrorism) action plans by Pakistan is a great achievement,” the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) said in a statement, quoting the army chief.

Meanwhile, in separate telephonic conversations, the prime minister also appreciated Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Finance Minister Miftah Ismail for their efforts in this regard.