Turkey tried to back Pakistan at the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) plenary, but there was no support from ‘all-weather ally’ China.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has all along been very vocal in assuring full support to Pakistan on the FATF black list issue. At last week’s plenary of the global anti-money laundering watchdog, Turkey had proposed a special visit to Islamabad for a ‘live’ assessment of Pakistan government’s implementation in plugging holes in its legal framework to curb terror financing.
It was an effort to help Pakistan get off the grey list immediately, but no other country — including Pakistan’s ‘all-weather ally’ China and Malaysia the Hindustan Times reported.
Pakistan, thus, stayed on FATF’s grey list, having been placed there in June 2018. The grey list comprises a bunch of countries where control over terror financing is deemed inadequate and are placed “under increased monitoring”.
FATF president Marcus Pleyer also warned Pakistan that it couldn’t take forever to deliver.
The FATF is likely to review Pakistan’s status in four months.
Also Read: No Relief For Pakistan, To Remain On FATF Grey List