– discusses challenges facing Muslim Ummah with Mufti Taqi Usmani
– calls on Punjab Government to appeal against court’s verdict in Sahiwal case
By Uzma Zafar
ISLAMABAD: In the wake of the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) retaining Pakistan on its grey list, Prime Minister Imran Khan has called a meeting to get a briefing on the matter.
Sources relayed the prime minister would be briefed on the measures the government has taken thus far to get out of the watchdog’s grey list. He would likely be apprised of the reasons behind its decision to retain the country on the grey list.
Federal Minister for Economic Affairs Hammad Azhar, who led a team that attended a crucial session of the Financial Action Task Force in Paris, would brief Prime Minister Khan on the action plan that the FATF wants Islamabad to implement to uproot money laundering and terror financing.
Meanwhile, PM Khan has also summoned a meeting of his economic team. Adviser on Commerce, Textile and Industry Abdul Razak Dawood, Hammad Azhar, Federal Board of Revenue (FBR) chairman Shabbar Zaidi, and other higher officials will attend the huddle.
Earlier, on Oct 23, Hammad Azhar had said Pakistan was committed to completing all the points in the action plan of FATF by the next year.
Addressing a news conference, he said Pakistan’s progress has been duly recognised in the September report.
Azhar said the country has made significant progress on many points of the action plan of the Financial Action Task Force in a short period of 10 months.
He said till last month, only five action items remained to be completed and twenty-two items were largely or partially completed out of twenty-seven.
Meanwhile, Prominent religious scholars, Mufti Taqi Usmani and Mufti Rafi Usmani called on Prime Minister Imran Khan in Islamabad on Friday, ARY News reported.
Talking to media, Sindh Governor Imran Ismail confirmed the meeting and said that matters of mutual interests, multiple challenges being faced by the Muslim Ummah, education reforms and other issues were discussed in the sitting.
He said that Mufti Taqi Usmani felicitated the prime minister over forcefully highlighting the Kashmir case at the international forums.
The meeting lasted over one hour, he added.
Earlier on October 24, PM Imran Khan had said that developing Pakistan on the pattern of the state of Madinah was his long awaited mission.
Talking to a delegation of leading Mushaikh (religious leaders scholars) in Islamabad, PM Imran Khan had said,” The life of the Holy Prophet (Peace Be Upon Him) provides the guiding principles for the entire mankind and we can become true Muslims and achieve real success by pursuing them.”
He said that establishment of ‘Seerat Chairs’ in universities was aimed at conducting comprehensive research on the life of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) and Islam to keep the youth and students abreast of this, Radio Pakistan reported.
Agencies adds: Prime Minister Imran has directed Punjab Government to file an appeal against the verdict of the Anti-Terrorism Court (ATC) in the Sahiwal massacre, said Firdous Ashiq Awan, on Friday.
Awan said that Prime Minister Imran had expressed concern over the acquittal of all six accused in the Sahiwal massacre case.
Awan tweeted that a high-level committee will also be formed to highlight and investigate the weaknesses of the prosecution team in the case.
Punjab Law Minister Raja Basharat said that both the government and masses were not satisfied with the verdict of the Sahiwal massacre case.
An anti-terrorism court in Lahore on Thursday acquitted all the suspects involved in the Sahiwal encounter on the basis of the benefit of the doubt.
