ISLAMABAD: Coordinator to Federal Tax Ombudsman Meher Kashif Younis on Sunday said that Pakistan’s removal from the grey list of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) will pave way for foreign direct investment and give a much-needed boost to the country’s fragile economy.
In a press statement, he said it will fully restore the confidence of global and local investors as tremendous opportunities and vast investment avenues are open to all international tycoons, adding that now a new boom will welcome exports from the country.
He said that getting off the FATF grey list was a highly technical process but the international community recognized Pakistan for the genuine steps it had taken. He added that the FATF’s decision would send a green signal to all investors for investment in Pakistan.
He said Prime Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif had already offered a basket of unprecedented packages of incentives to attract foreign direct investment and joint ventures in energy sectors and other areas of mutual interests and hoped this decision would yield positive dividends and bring prosperity and development across the country.
He said credit goes to PM and armed forces, law enforcing agencies, and result-oriented diplomatic endeavors, adding that Pakistan first entered the list in 2008 and exited in 2010. The country was placed again on the list from 2012 to 2015. It had been back on the ‘grey list’, also known as the “increased monitoring list”, since 2018. Pakistan had successfully completed all the 27 prescribed actions, he observed.