Ali Zaidi hails HBL chairman's contribution for FATF progress

Former federal minister Ali Haider Zaidi on Sunday hailed the contribution of HBL Chairman Sultan Ali Allana in completing the tough criteria set by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF).

In a Twitter post, Ali Zaidi said that the completion of the FATF Action Plans would not have been possible without the contribution of Sultan Ali Allana.

“While many contributed brilliantly towards our success in FATF, I must specially acknowledge HBL Chairman Sultan Ali Allana, who hired and paid millions of dollars to top international consultants required to guide our Pakistan team in helping us get through FATF. Well done HBL Pakistan,” Ali Zaidi said in a Twitter post.

Meanwhile, the HBL chairman, while speaking to a news channel, said that it was not just the funds that they provided that must be recognised. “We identified the consultants, put the team together, made the templates for the work that had to be done, organised training sessions and participated in report content, etc.”

The HBL chairman said that the resultant success could not have been possible without the unflinching support of Chief of Army Staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed, the then DG MO General Noman, and so many others who held the programme launch and oversaw its continuation together.

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He also appreciated and gave credit to former Prime Minister Imran Khan for believing in his plan and to all those in his government who followed it and guided it to the completion stage.

“My sincere gratitude to all who gave me this opportunity to serve my country. It has been my privilege.”

Ali Zaidi’s comments come a day anti-money laundering terror financing watchdog announced that Pakistan had “substantially completed its two action plans” and would be removed from the grey list after it passes the on-site visit stage.

"Pakistan continued its relentless efforts towards successful completion of these Action Plans despite many challenges including the COVID 19 pandemic," it said in a statement issued after the FATF's announcement.

"Pakistan has covered a lot of ground in the AML/CFT domain during the implementation of FATF Action Plans. The engagement with FATF has led to the development of a strong AML/CFT framework in Pakistan and resulted in the improvement of our systems to cope with future challenges.

The Pakistan delegation, which attended FATF Plenary meetings in Berlin, was led by Hina Rabbani Khar, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs / Chairperson of National FATF Coordination Committee, it added.