Pakistan’s int’l partners are standing with us on FATF issue: FO

Foreign Office spokesperson Aisha Farooqui in her weekly briefing on Thursday said Pakistan is hopeful with regards to the country’s upcoming status review by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF), adding that “our international partners are standing with us”.

The spokesperson’s remarks come a day after Hafiz Saeed, leader of the proscribed Jamaatud Dawa, and his aide were sentenced to five-and-a-half-years imprisonment by a Lahore anti-terrorism court in connection with two terror-financing cases.

The FATF’s next meeting will be held in Beijing later this month in which it will decide whether Pakistan will be removed from or remain on the task force’s grey list.

The spokeswoman also commented on US President Donald Trump’s upcoming visit to India, recalling that the president had offered mediation on the Kashmir dispute multiple times.

“It is time that these offers take on a material shape,” she said. “We are expecting that he [Trump] will take up the matter with Narendra Modi during his visit.”

Ehsanullah’s alleged escape:

When asked about the alleged presence of Ehsanullah Ehsan in Turkey, the spokesperson told reporters that the Ministry of Interior was monitoring reports about his whereabouts.

The “mysterious escape” of the former Tehreek-i-Taliban Pakistan (TTP) spokesman from the custody of a security agency had made news last week. The government or security forces, however, did not comment on his escape after the news broke.

Pak-Turk relations:

Referring to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s two-day visit to the country, Farooqui said relations between the two countries were not only close and friendly but were based on a bond of brotherhood.

She added that the Turkish president was accompanied by parliamentarians and investors from his country and would meet Prime Minister Imran Khan and President Arif Alvi during his visit.