'Vindication of determined efforts': PM Shehbaz Sharif on Pakistan's exit from FATF's grey list

Islamabad, Oct 21: Pakistan Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif on Friday welcomed the FATF's decision to remove his country from its grey list, describing the development as a "vindication of our determined and sustained efforts over the years".

Taking to Twitter, Shehbaz Sharif wrote: Pakistan exiting the FATF grey list is a vindication of our determined and sustained efforts over the years. I would like to congratulate our civil and military leadership as well as all institutions whose hard work led to today's success."

Sharif particularly commended the role and efforts of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Army chief Gen Qamar Javed Bajwa and their teams and all political parties for putting up a united front to get Pakistan out of the grey list.

"I would particularly commend the role & efforts of Foreign Minister Bilawal Bhutto, Army Chief General Qamar Javed Bajwa and their teams & all political parties for putting up a united front to get Pakistan out of the grey list. Alhumdulillah!," he added.

The Paris-based Financial Action Task Force (FATF) removed Pakistan from a list of countries under "increased monitoring", also known as the "grey list".

FATF in a statement said that it welcomes Pakistan's significant progress in improving its anti-money laundering and counter-terrorist financing (AML/CFT) regime as it has strengthened the effectiveness of its AML/CFT regime and addressed technical deficiencies to meet the commitments of its action plans.

The removal from the list is expected to improve Pakistan's international image and open more avenues for economic opportunities when the country is struggling to address inflation and attract foreign investment.